Best UK airports to New York
Heathrow is by far the widest-served UK origin. Norse from LGW offers the lowest headline fares. Dublin has US Preclearance — worth a look for Irish UK travellers.
| UK airport | Flight time | Airlines | From |
| London Heathrow (LHR) | 7h 30m | BA, Virgin, AA, Delta, United | £449 |
| London Gatwick (LGW) | 7h 30m | Norse, BA, JetBlue | £299 |
| London Stansted (STN) | 7h 30m | JetBlue | £329 |
| London City (LCY) | 7h 45m | BA (via SNN fuel stop) | £1,895 (Biz only) |
| Manchester (MAN) | 7h 50m | Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus (via DUB) | £499 |
| Edinburgh (EDI) | 8h 00m | Delta (seasonal), Aer Lingus (via DUB) | £549 |
| Glasgow (GLA) | 8h 05m | Virgin Atlantic (summer), 1-stop via AMS/DUB | £575 |
| Dublin (via DUB) | 7h 30m | Aer Lingus, US Preclearance | £399 |
Dublin (DUB) has US Customs Preclearance — you enter the US in Ireland and land at JFK/EWR as a domestic passenger. Game-changer if you value skipping US immigration queues after an overnight flight.
Airlines to New York from the UK
Cheapest months to fly to New York
Lowest one-way fare from London. NYC has summer tourism peaks and winter festive peaks — shoulder (Jan-Feb, Sep) is best value.
🟢 Cheap (£299–£400) · 🟡 Average (£400–£525) · 🔴 Peak (£525+). Thanksgiving week (last Thurs Nov) and NYE (27 Dec–2 Jan) are the all-year peaks.
Best time to book NYC flights
JFK vs Newark vs LaGuardia
Build your NYC trip
New York flight FAQs
London Gatwick — Norse Atlantic operates LGW-JFK from £299 return sale, £399 typical. Heathrow (BA, Virgin, American, Delta, United) is £449+. Newark (EWR) fares often £30-50 cheaper than JFK because tourists prefer JFK. Manchester has BA and Virgin direct from £499.
Direct flights take 7h 30m London to New York (westbound, against jet stream) and 6h 30m eastbound. Manchester and Edinburgh add about 45 minutes. 20+ daily Heathrow-NYC frequencies make this the world's busiest transatlantic route.
UK passport holders need ESTA authorisation — apply at esta.cbp.dhs.gov, $21, approved usually within minutes. Valid for 2 years. You can stay up to 90 days per visit. Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay.
JFK is the traditional NYC airport — AirTrain + subway to Manhattan in 60m, $11. Newark (EWR) is in New Jersey but often $30-50 cheaper — AirTrain + NJ Transit to Penn Station in 35m, $15. LaGuardia (LGA) is domestic mostly — no UK direct flights. Choose by price, not convenience.
January, February and early December — fares from £299 return. Avoid Thanksgiving (last Thurs of Nov), Christmas week, and New Year. Summer (Jun-Aug) and autumn foliage (mid-Oct to early Nov) are peak tourist seasons with £600+ fares.
Yes — NYC subway and bus accept contactless Visa/Mastercard directly at OMNY gates. Taxi, Uber, restaurants, shops all take contactless. Tip culture is strong — 18-20% at restaurants, $1-2 per drink at bars. Use a fee-free debit card (Chase UK, Starling, Monzo) to dodge 3% foreign transaction fees.