All direct flights to Los Angeles from the UK & Ireland

James Says

We searched our partner site Expedia.co.uk on January 15 for economy flights to Los Angeles on a one-week trip, starting on April 16 and returning on April 23.

Flights to Los Angeles from London Heathrow

• £314 -- KLM via Amsterdam.

• £325 -- Air New Zealand; non-stop.

• £339 -- British Airways; non-stop.

• £339 -- Virgin Atlantic; non-stop.

• £339 -- United Airlines; non-stop.

• £347 – American Airlines; non-stop

Unsurprisingly, flights to the west coast of the USA are not as attractively priced as flights to Eastern Seaboard destinations, but considering the extra distance, and the current economic climate, any price in the £300 to £350 range is outstanding.

In terms of convenience, we cannot see much point in taking the KLM option, as that will involve a change of planes in both directions. For just a few pounds more, you can fly non-stop with Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and United Airlines.

With this route being so competitive, we would certainly recommend considering service standards rather than just focusing on the price of your flight. Air New Zealand would be our first choice as they offer an extremely generous 34 inches seat pitch in economy class on the Boeing 747s they use on this route. Most other airlines have a seat pitch of 31 inches, and on such a long flight, that extra space can make a huge difference.

Flights to Los Angeles from UK regional airports

Despite heavy competition on Los Angeles flights from London Heathrow, there are unfortunately no direct flights to Los Angeles from any other UK airports. Plenty of connecting flights to Los Angeles are available via London, European hubs such as Amsterdam or Paris, or via other US Gateway airports such as New York or Philadelphia.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Birmingham -- £338 -- Air France/KLM via Paris or Amsterdam

• Flights to Los Angeles from Bristol -- £334 -- Air France/KLM via Paris or Amsterdam; £348 -- Continental Airlines via New York Newark.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Belfast International -- £346 -- Continental Airlines via New York Newark.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Dublin -- £367 -- BMI/United via Heathrow; £469 -- British Airways via Heathrow.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Edinburgh -- £341 -- KLM via Amsterdam; £371 -- BMI/Virgin Atlantic via Heathrow.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Glasgow -- £339 -- KLM via Amsterdam; £371 -- Virgin Atlantic via Heathrow.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Leeds Bradford -- £334 -- Air France via Paris; £347 -- KLM via Amsterdam.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Manchester -- £327 -- Air France via Paris; £340 -- KLM via Amsterdam.

• Flights to Los Angeles from Newcastle -- £370 -- KLM via Amsterdam; £395 -- British Airways via Heathrow.

Unlike many other destinations, there is little variation in prices for Los Angeles flights between different UK regional departure airports.

Unsurprisingly, Manchester, which offers the widest range of flight options, is the cheapest departure point at £327, whereas Newcastle comes in the most expensive at £370. Some passengers considering flights from Newcastle might see Manchester as a better value alternative, but we would suggest taking a look at flights from Leeds Bradford Airport , which would save a long drive across the Pennines.

Cheap flights to Los Angeles with budget airlines

There are no budget airlines offering cheap flights to Los Angeles from Europe, and we think it is unlikely that any will come a long in the near future, because it would be far easier to start cheap flights to New York before attempting to target the west coast. Scottish budget operator Flyglobespan had previously attempted to offer flights to Las Vegas (and also to Boston) from Glasgow, but they went bust in 2009.

Note that if you are looking for flights within the USA to the Los Angeles area, you might find better value flights to either Burbank (Southwest Airlines and Jet Blue), Ontario (Southwest Airlines), Orange County (Southwest Airlines) and Long Beach (Jet Blue) airports. Flights to Los Angeles are generally slightly cheaper than flights to San Francisco, as there is more competition on the Los Angeles route. However, the difference is rarely more than a few pounds -- if you are visiting both cities, it is always worth looking at open jaw, or multi-stop options. Los Angeles is rare amongst American airports in that it is a hub for two traditional scheduled airlines -- United (who also have a hub in San Francisco) and American Airlines.

Upgrades on flights to Los Angeles

We looked at prices on premium flights to Los Angeles from London, using the same criteria and dates as above. The best fares are listed below:

• Premium Economy class flights to Los Angeles -- from £657 with Air New Zealand; £737 with British Airways -- both non-stop.

• Business class flights to Los Angeles -- from £1593 with Northwest via Minneapolis; £1610 with Air New Zealand -- non-stop.

• First class flights to Los Angeles -- from £2699 with American Airlines or United; £2709 with British Airways -- all non-stop flights.

Fly drive to Los Angeles/Los Angeles car hire 

Los Angeles is the perfect starting point to explore California and the American West, although you should be prepared to fight your way through Los Angeles' notorious congestion on your way in and out of the airport!

As the prices below show, some exceptional deals are available when you combine your transatlantic flights with car hire.

We looked at prices for Los Angeles car hire and Los Angeles flights and car hire packages, between April 16 and 23, as above:

• £775 -- flights and car hire for two people with United airlines -- non-stop flight.

• £799 -- flights and car hire for two people with Virgin Atlantic -- non-stop flights.

• £810 -- flights and car hire for two people with British Airways -- non-stop flights.