United's Polaris Lounge offers a luxurious experience with seated meals and less crowding.
United's Premium Plus offers extra recline and legroom, ideal for long-haul comfort.
Planning a trip from San Francisco to Heathrow? KAYAK’s data-powered insights will help you find cheap flights. Learn the best time to fly, how early to book your ticket, and other tips to secure great prices.
Based on the flight data for the route from San Francisco (SFO) to London Heathrow (LHR), it appears that Tuesdays in October are generally the cheapest days to fly.
Day Selection: Choose to fly on a Tuesday for the best rates.
Month Selection: Opt for flights in October for lower prices.
Booking Time: Book your flight around 14 days in advance to get the best deal.
Airline Choice: Consider flying with WestJet, as it is generally the cheapest airline for this route.
Flight Type: Opt for flights with one stop, as they are cheaper than direct flights.
This feature is powered by ChatGPT: an OpenAI-developed artificial intelligence model trained with KAYAK proprietary data and third-party data not verified by KAYAK.
Low season | January |
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High season | July |
Cheapest flight | $354 |
Direct departures
San Francisco to London Heathrow
Monday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Tuesday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Wednesday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Thursday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Friday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Saturday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Sunday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Direct returns
London Heathrow to San Francisco
Monday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Tuesday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Wednesday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Thursday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Friday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Saturday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Sunday
British Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
British Airways, United Airlines, +1 more
Delayed flight (1hour) plus a long layover after an overnight flight with no backup plane available.
Delayed flight (1hour) plus a long layover after an overnight flight with no backup plane available.
Passengers need to check in big baggage instead of bringing on the plane. That cause inconvenience for everyone. Otherwise flight was good.
Flight delayed for two and half hours and then canceled altogether due to mechanical issues. No mechanic onsite to fix so had to send one from LAX.
Great. Very smooth. Plenty of information. However, wish they would give out a menu in advance of making a dinner choice like other international airlines. The flight attendant says chicken or pasta and there are details about ingredients or spices requiring the passenger to ask which requires the flight attendant to answer many times. So easy to solve this problem. P
My husband upgraded our seats and I don't know if it was due to the type of planet was or if they didn't upgrade our seats. We were supposed to be in I believe comfort seats and they were just as tight as any other seat- no leg room and we are very tall people but at least it wasn't extremely cold. My husband did put in a complaint about our seating because he paid extra and if we would have known that the space and the tightness would have been the same, we just would have gotten the emergency row emergency row seats that we normally get. We love Delta but both our flights coming home we're not good. Oh I forgot to mention that on our flight to Hawaii our luggage wheels got broke and we had to purse new luggage on vacation then we never had this problem so we didn't know protocol and reported it after we got home only for them to tell is we only had 24hrs to report the damage. Not sure what was going on with Delta this vacation trip.
Crew was excellent. Comfort seats not as nice as other kinds of planes.
It was a great flight and the stewards and stewardess were all kind and accommodating!! The seats were comfortable and entertainment screen excellent!
There are 4 flights in consecutive gates with about the same departure time. Two flights were boarding at the same time. One was delayed or boarding would be happening at the same time. I am not sure what Delta and LAX need to do to have a better layout at the end of Terminal 2
There was a security issue at the airport and we were unable to land. We circled endlessly and then landed at another airfield for fuel. We then circled the airport again, almost landed but didn’t fully touch down before circling again. I am thankful to the crew for keeping us safe- the issue was the airline and staff at the airport getting us seats on our connecting flights. That part was hours of searching for someone and getting in double my steps.
Most aspects were good however if they assign boarding zones they ought to enforce them or why bother? My luggage from SAN-JFK-MAD was lost in NY so I without my main bag for two days upon arrival in Spain. They were helpful in tracking it and eventually delivered it to my hotel. The flub was because of a delay upon arrival in NYC. I had booked 2 1/2 hours between flights but we had to hold on the taxiway for an hour after landing while waiting for a clear gate which likely caused the baggage error.
Great staff great experience, made a 2 hour delay very bearable
Great staff, great experience, made a 2 hour delay very bearable
Food was the worst I’ve had on a VA flight. Normally it’s a lot better
I was my pleasure to fly virgin on my birthday for my first solo trip ever 🫶🏼
These are one of the older seat arrangements facing away from the windows! Not particularly convenient sets. No storage spaces. NO COAT HANGING HOOKS. Inconvenient business class seat compared to any other airlines of similar class. Staff are excellent! Extremely professional, friendly. Food is good too.
Overall, flight was excellent but check in was very slow for Premium Economy. Economy queue was shorter but we weren't allowed to use it.
The staff was not very polite but the flight was very very nice and comfortable and the entertainment was great
Great crew - old style upper class seats on the older fleet now feels dated
Premium economy more comfortable than economy, but not by much. Did was awful, do not try the omelette. Flight crew were helpful. Flight was delayed by over an hour. Overall but bad, arrived safely and thank God.
Food was excellent. Service was very good. Staff was very helpful to all passengers.
We were in business class. the angled seats in that class do not have a real window view & the placement of the controls are bad. But we knew that. But the food options were mediocre. The taste was fine, but the size was for a child. It’s just really feels like United is skimping on everything. Even when we were in the Polaris lounge they did not have diet sodas. They said they were out no Coke zero no Diet Coke, etc. I do not think the portion of nuts they serve on the plane could get any smaller. Really a minimal service and offer for what you’re paying for in business.
We had to deboard 2 times due to maintenance issues. They changed the plane, and then we got deviated to LAX due to maibtenance issues on the other plane, had to sleep at LAX and los a full day.
From the first moment you interact with United Airlines, you can expect nothing less but extreme frustration. The baggage handler at the bag drop seems completely unbothered by the presence of customers waiting in line. No help was extended to load the baggage whatsoever. And if any of your bags is overweight by 0.01 pound they will make you re-distribute everything in your suitcase just to play power trip. When it was time to board no help was extended to customers to locate their seats. Moreover. It was a chaotic mess at the gate when it was unclear who should board first and everyone just bunched up, trying to get on the plane. I am sure the crew was doing their best to perform their jobs while being paid their wages however it shouldn’t be that hard to smile once or twice when you’re in the business if serving customers. It is a shame for the United States of America to have a flagship carrier of such low caliber. Our flight was also delayed by about an hour and a half due to further delays prior to our inbound flight. Being someone who has travelled for both business and leisure in Asia, Europe, and South America I have never experienced such poor quality of service.
The pilots were late and it made us 1 hour late. The meat was tough and bok choy was also tough.
Stuck on tarmac for two hours plus a 5.5 hour flight. Rude flight attendant. And no meals, not even for purchase!
I learned that seating towards the end of plane that a line forms for the restroom and people use your chair as a hand railing, bumping your seat consistently. I was seated in the aisle. I think that next time if I am towards the back row I would want to sit in the middle or window seat.
The best airline I have ever travel , really good customer service, attention and service !!
Everything was great. Only thing that could’ve made it better was buy on board options for hot food, but the snacks were decent. The flight attendants were great. I had no complaints. I was able to make it to my destination safely
Although the flight was delayed the crew and the flight itself were very good. Couldn't fault anything and after the disappointment of being abandoned in the US by BA it was a welcome relief to travel with United
Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.
The seats are so small that you can barely move at all. Don't try to eat with utensils in your seat either - you will elbow your neighbor in the face. Miserably small and I swear they are shrinking every time I fly. Food was meh (per usual), but at least there is free alcohol on an overseas flight. Doesn't make up for sitting in a torture chamber while hurtling through the air with hundreds of fussy people, but it's something. Entertainment options (movies, shows) are okay, nothing special, but at least there are screens, because most of the seats in these large planes do not have adjustable lighting - or air control - that you can get to, it's too high to reach - which makes reading impossible. Zero stars, AA.
Terrible customer service. I booked business class and the counter agent didn’t bother asking me about any choice or preferred seat, basically assigned me that last seat and couldn’t even answer if it was a business class seat. Also iberia lost my suitcase on my flight from JFK to MAD with the layover in BCN. Useless customer service at the counter. Thank goodness I happened to check the baggage claim area of the next flight in…there it was.
Disaster. Downgraded. Zero apology. No effort or coordination between gate and crew. Awful seat blocked by door emergency slide box. Iberia is a mess. App never works. Avoid this airline.
We departed late but made up most of the time in flight. Our ticket was pure economy, so it wasn’t anything fancy; however, I heard that we arrived in Madrid at the exact same time that First Class passengers arrived! Overall, our experience was similar to what we had on other American Airlines transatlantic flights - good value at a reasonable price. We were even able to get our carry-on baggage onto the plane without needing to gate check it.
The crew were friendly and helpful. Iberia lost our luggage on arrival, Friday and we didn't get it until Sunday at 10:00 p.m. local Malaga time. I also paid $382.80 for seat assignments but two out out of the four were not together. Iberia mentioned that it was because the plane was delayed in Madrid before our flight began in LAX. They should compensate us half of my payment.
It was fortunate that the flight arrived in London in accordance with schedule, and the luggage was promptly transferred to the luggage carousel. However, I find it concerning that even minor issues in economy cabins are prevalent within the industry. American Airlines, in particular, appears to have the least legroom and feels more crowded due to the proximity of neighboring passengers. Additionally, the crew’s adherence to protocol is inconsistent. While they may enforce certain rules set by the FAA on a select few individuals, they often overlook numerous violations, such as failing to reset seat recline during landing.
Easy and organized getting in and out of the flight
We liked the flight but while we purchased an aisle seat, our seats had a different configuration on this flight. A fellow passenger suggested that the airplane had been changed. Too bad we were not informed and had no chance to modify our seat preferences. We were stuck in the window and middle seats with no chance to walk around and go to the bathroom without disturbing our sleeping fellow passenger.
The crew were not very personable. The crew did not serve tea or coffee. The bathroom was not kept clean. Two out of the 5 toilets in the cabin weren't working.
It was extremely cold in the back of the plane. The seats are uncomfortable and space very small. Crew was excellent as usual.
Moved me away from my family and refused to fix it.
I have always been pleased with their service. Would not change a thing
Seating and food was the worst we have experienced in 35 years of traveling for both personal and busines .
Economy seats felt more cramped than other flights we have taken.7 hr, painful sitting hours 6 and 7. Web site difficult to deal with. Originally put in for 1 special meal due to type 2. Meal was awful. Tried to change selection to standard for return flight, on app and website, unable to complete that action.
I was sleeping during dinner service, no one bothered to offer meal later, I remained hungry….until I got a morning sandwich!
Need to offer Better food from LAX to London Service from London to Delhi very delayed after take off.
Connection at Hethrow was horrible..We couldn't get out of the plane for an hour as they were buying people to the airport and there were not enough busses. We had 2 and half hf between flights so it was very tight. After departing plane we had to go thru security again. People with less time in between connections missed their flights
Horrible… I was downgraded without notice, had to sit in economy and given my back injury was in pain most of the journey. I expect to be reimbursed for this inconvenience and after my return flight home, I never plan to fly with British Airways again.
Great crew and food and beverage. Seating tight but not the airline's fault. Will definitely fly BA in future!
The seating has become ridiculous… like a contest to see how narrow and short they can be made- forcing anyone over 5’1 to pay more to not be twisting oneself into a pretzel. Really insane- would have thought BA was better than this. Frankly- it cancels out a lot of the positive aspects.
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