Flight route
Flights from London (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO)
Distance, flight time and the airlines in Originfacts’ route record for London to San Francisco, the two airports, and partner fare tools. Each figure shows where it came from.
American Airlines
United AirlinesOpens our flight-search partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no cost to you.
LHR → SFO at a glance
Distance
8,617 km
About 5,354 miles: the great-circle distance between the two airports’ coordinates.
Route record · checked against coordinatesFlight time
~10h 24m
An estimate, not a timetable. The airline’s schedule gives the actual time.
Route record estimateTime difference
−7h
San Francisco is 7h behind London today. LHR: Europe/London (UTC) · SFO: America/Los_Angeles (UTC−7)
Calculated from IANA time zonesTime zones: Time differenceAirlines in route record
2
American Airlines and United Airlines
Originfacts route recordSee airlines: Airlines in route recordReturn route
SFO → LHRFlights from San Francisco back to London.
Originfacts route recordRelated routes: Return route
Airlines on the LHR–SFO route
The airlines Originfacts’ route record lists for LHR–SFO, after leaving out carriers listed only through a recycled airline code or as a codeshare. It is not a full schedule and does not say which airlines fly nonstop; check current flights with the airline.
- Cabin bag size
- Not yet verified
- Cabin bag weight
- Not yet verified
- Checked bag
- Not yet verified
- Online check-in
- Online or in the app from 24 hours before departure until 45 minutes before (90 minutes for international flights).aa.com (opens in a new tab)· checked 3 Sept 2026
- Cabin bag size
- 56 x 35 x 23 cm (22 x 14 x 9 in)united.com (opens in a new tab)· checked 6 Oct 2026
- Cabin bag weight
- Economy: 1 carry-on bag + 1 personal item included (except Basic Economy on domestic/short-haul which includes personal item only)united.com (opens in a new tab)· checked 6 Oct 2026
- Business & First: 1 carry-on bag + 1 personal item includedunited.com (opens in a new tab)· checked 6 Oct 2026
- Checked bag
- Economy: 1 piece up to 23 kg (50 lbs) on transpacific/transatlantic; $35-$40 for 1st bag on US domesticunited.com (opens in a new tab)· checked 6 Oct 2026
- Online check-in
- 24 hours before scheduled departure via united.com or United appunited.com (opens in a new tab)· checked 6 Oct 2026
Baggage and check-in rules are each airline’s general rules, read from its own site on the date shown. They are not specific to this route, and your fare type can change them: check your booking.
Fare calendar and schedule for LHR → SFO
Two tools from Aviasales, our flight-search partner. They load only if you allow advertising cookies. Prices in them come from recent searches and are indicative, not quotes; the fare on the booking page can differ. The schedule shows flights in the partner’s data, including codeshares sold by other airlines.
Fare calendar
This price calendar is provided by our partner Travelpayouts (Aviasales) and sets cookies.
Or search on flights.originfacts.com, our partner’s siteFlight schedule
This flight schedule is provided by our partner Travelpayouts (Aviasales) and sets cookies.
Or search on flights.originfacts.com, our partner’s siteThe airports: London Heathrow Airport and San Francisco International Airport
Departure
London Heathrow AirportLHR
- Codes
- LHR · EGLL (IATA · ICAO)
- Serves
- London, United Kingdom
- Time zone
- Europe/London (UTC today)
- Coordinates
- 51.470°, -0.450°
- Size class
- Large airport
- Runways
- 2, longest 3,901 m (09L/27R)
- Opened
- 31 May 1946
- Operator
- Heathrow Airport Holdings
- Passengers
- 83.9 million in 2024
Size class, runways: OurAirports, 5 Oct 2026. Opened, operator, passengers: Wikidata (opens in a new tab), 5 Oct 2026 (passengers citing aci.aero (opens in a new tab)).
Arrival
San Francisco International AirportSFO
- Codes
- SFO · KSFO (IATA · ICAO)
- Serves
- San Francisco, United States
- Time zone
- America/Los_Angeles (UTC−7 today)
- Coordinates
- 37.620°, -122.390°
- Size class
- Large airport
- Runways
- 4, longest 3,618 m (10L/28R)
- Opened
- 7 May 1927
- Operator
- City and County of San Francisco
- Passengers
- 54.5 million in 2025
Size class, runways: OurAirports, 5 Oct 2026. Opened, operator, passengers: Wikidata (opens in a new tab), 5 Oct 2026 (passengers citing flysfo.com (opens in a new tab)).
Each airport guide lists the airport’s codes, location and time zone, any other routes and airlines Originfacts tracks from LHR or SFO, current weather and nearby airports, and where to check terminal and transport details.
Weather in San Francisco: average high, low and rain by month
Averages of NASA POWER (opens in a new tab) daily values for 2016–2025 at 37.62°, -122.39° near SFO (MERRA-2 reanalysis grid, about 50 km cells), worked out by Originfacts. Modelled, not weather-station readings or a forecast.
In October, San Francisco averages a daily high of 20°C and a low of 13°C, with about 32 mm of rain over the month.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14°C | 9°C | 124 mm |
| Feb | 14°C | 9°C | 87 mm |
| Mar | 14°C | 10°C | 91 mm |
| Apr | 15°C | 10°C | 30 mm |
| May | 16°C | 11°C | 15 mm |
| Jun | 17°C | 12°C | 2 mm |
| Jul | 17°C | 13°C | 1 mm |
| Aug | 19°C | 14°C | 1 mm |
| Sep | 20°C | 15°C | 5 mm |
| Octthis month | 20°C | 13°C | 32 mm |
| Nov | 17°C | 11°C | 53 mm |
| Dec | 14°C | 9°C | 108 mm |
Getting to and from LHR and SFO
Ground transport, terminals and parking at either airport have not been checked against the airports’ own pages yet, so none are listed here.
Check directly:heathrow.com (opens in a new tab)flysfo.com (opens in a new tab)
London to San Francisco: common questions
Which airlines fly from London to San Francisco?
Originfacts’ route record for LHR–SFO lists American Airlines and United Airlines. It is not a full schedule; check current flights with the airline before booking.
How far is London from San Francisco by air?
About 8,617 km, the great-circle distance between London Heathrow Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
How long is the flight from London (LHR) to San Francisco (SFO)?
The Originfacts route record estimates about 10h 24m nonstop. It is an estimate, not a timetable: the airline’s schedule gives the actual flight time.
Is there a time difference between London and San Francisco?
San Francisco is 7h behind London today (UTC−7 in America/Los_Angeles vs UTC in Europe/London).
Sources
Where each part of this page comes from
- Distance, flight-time estimateOriginfacts route record, checked against the great-circle distance between the airport coordinates21 May 2026
- AirlinesOriginfacts route record, leaving out carriers listed only through a recycled airline code or as a codeshare21 May 2026
- Baggage and check-inEach airline’s own pages, via the Originfacts airline fact files; only checked values are shown3 Sept 2026 – 6 Oct 2026
- Airport codes, time zonesOriginfacts airport records4 Sept 2026 · 2 May 2026
- Time differenceCalculated from each airport’s IANA time zone, with daylight saving applied for today’s dateToday
- Airport websitesWikidata (official website property)—
- Airport size class, runwaysOurAirports (opens in a new tab) open data (public domain); the size class is OurAirports’ own, not an official category5 Oct 2026
- Airport opened, operator, passengersWikidata (CC0), each airport’s own item; passenger figures are the latest year recorded there, with its reference where Wikidata gives one5 Oct 2026
- Weather in San FranciscoNASA POWER (opens in a new tab) daily data (MERRA-2 reanalysis), averaged by month by Originfacts. Modelled, not weather-station readings2016–2025
- Fare calendar, scheduleAviasales widgets, loaded with advertising consentLive
Schedules, fares and airline rules change. Confirm with the airline before you travel.