Best airline JFK to LHR

Try Virgin Atlantic.

Comfort often depends on the aircraft used. Delta’s best between both airports is on the A330-900NEO. Some other flights are also 767–400 which are older. Virgin Atlantic uses both the A330-900NEO & 787-900. The former aircraft to LHR is a day flight which I think is much more comfortable than flying overnight. So take a look at the aircraft type & the time to see what YOU prefer.

We prefer Airbus to Boeing aircraft, but flying from Australia we have long flights (24-30 hours) so comfort is everything. We find the cabin pressure on an Airbus is better and you feel less dehydrated. They also seem to be quieter than Boeings and so are easier to sleep on overnight legs.

We have liked business class on Air France who I see fly JFK to LHR. We have also been very comfortable on British Airways.

Seats on British Airways are some forward facing, some backward facing. That will not work for us.

Can't you just pick the forward facing seats? We fly as a couple in business class and usually find that what works best for us is to pick window seats one behind the other. Side by side often doesn't work well as the business class seats are not really designed for getting close to your neighbour.

I usually fly Virgin Atlantic from the west coast. Premium economy and occasionally biz class. It’s a nice comfortable flight. Especially business class. Good service on the ground and in the air. Very nice lounge at Heathrow. From the west coast they fly both Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. I’ve only flown on the 787. In terms of cabin comfort many people find the 787’s higher humidity and pressurization feels like you are at a lower altitude to make a difference. I have never noticed it but some do.I would think the new Airbus would be similar. As for noise as long as I’m seated forward of the engines the noise is diminished and noise canceling headphones help.

British airways charges for advance seat selection. Charges are waived if you have status on BA or partner airlines. Or you can wait until check in starts and select seats for free. I find it annoying that they charge a seat selection fee for business class so I avoid them when possible.

We really like United Polaris. We flew to Italy in spring 2022 with them and had the best experience (it was Washington Dulles to Milan and then Rome to Dulles). Everything was amazing - the lounge in DC, the seats on the plane, service, etc. My boyfriend did a lot of research on the planes and seats.

When we booked our flights for London for March 2023, we looked at Virgin, BA, and United. BA was way way too expensive. It came down to Virgin and United and we liked the seats on United Polaris better.

British airways has changed their Business Class configuration in some airplanes. You might double check on this route. It may be no longer an issue.

You may want to consider Jet Blue's Mint Class (same as Business Class), which is super comfortable. I've taken it twice to/from JFK-LHR and been very pleased.

However, last fall I flew, not in Business Class but in Premium seating, on the Virgin Atlantic 8am morning flight from JFK-LHR, and the seat was very spacious and comfortable, and the food/service was excellent. Best of all, I loved the timing of the flight, as it arrived in London around 8pm. I'm now a believer in taking a morning flight from the east coast to London, just because the arrival time is more conducive to quickly getting on the right sleep cycle.

Even in business class, I don't sleep well on a plane, so for me, it's better to leave in the morning, arrive at 8pm London time and once I get through Customs, checked in to the hotel, it's 11pm and I can go to sleep and wake up somewhat refreshed and be on the right time. Also, Customs in London was far less crowded at 8pm than it usually is following the morning flight arrivals.

Backward facing seats are safer, hence why RAF transports have always had backward facing seats, I always choose them if I cantill to this day. That notwithstanding choosing an aeroplane on type is risky because they frequently chnage between booking and flying. I have been at the gate before now when the aircraft type has changed. Choose on the fare basis and timings that suit you. is always the best option.

I usually fly American because I've had the most miles with them and they offer a daytime fight from JFK to LHR.

I used to take BA's morning flight. It was on a 747 and I would get a seat on the upper deck. Only 20 seats....quiet and excellent service but it did have the ying yang of opposite seats. You would actually face the person sitting next to you until the screen was raised.

I believe some of Virgin Atlantic's business class seats are also rear facing.

I fly Club World on British Airlines and usually have the back facing seat. You really can't tell the difference when flying Plus I believe from New York, some of their fleet now has the Club World Suites which eliminates the "stepping over people" to get to the aisle. Maybe I'm just easy-going but I've always had a pleasant flight and the backfiring seats by the windows are some of the most private seats. I always feel like I'm in my own little cocoon.

You could look at Virgin Atlantic but it's usually more expensive then BA.

Depending on the date you are travelling, AA has 4 flights (3 on Saturday), 2 of which are 777-223s that may or may not have some rear-facing seats (Zodiac) ... some flights you identified as BA may actually be AA metal ... if you can find the plane's registration number for the date/time you want to fly, the following will tell you the business seat type:

https://sites.google.com/site/newamericanfleet/american-mainline/boeing-777-200er

You can also look at seatguru for a seatmap of an AA 772-223 with the Zodiac seat configuration and find seats that face forward and be sure you reserve those.

Be careful using seatguru. It’s been reported to be defunct. According to the wiki it hasn’t been updated since Sept 2021. Might be okay to use for now but as time passes the info on the site will become outdated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeatGuru

Here is a site for airline seating that you may find helpful. https://seatmaps.com/airlines/

Here's another: aeroLOPA

Not quite as comprehensive as some others, but beautifully rendered, extremely accurate seat layouts.