Daytime Flights To Europe From The U.S., And Canada

Originally published December 24, 2022; Last Updated June 2026

Most flights from the U.S. (North America) to Europe depart at night. However, some airlines operate what are called daytime flights. I’d like for you to answer some questions about transatlantic flights, and then we can take a look at these daytime flights to Europe.

Quick answer Yes, there are daytime flights to Europe. Boston, New York (JFK), and Newark have day departures to London-Heathrow, and Halifax offers one from Canada. They land in the evening (roughly 7–11pm) — and each has a late-night “last flight home” that’s perfect for regular and non-rev day trips.

Why Are Transatlantic Flights Always At Night? (Overnight Flights To Europe)

There are several reasons for this:

1. Landing slots. These are controlled by the airports and airlines have to bid for them. These are extremely hard to come by and expensive.
2. Landings are only allowed certain times of the day. So if the airlines leave too early they would arrive during the night and there would be no services to accommodate them such as trains, taxis, etc. Plus the noise they make would wake up the locals and that’s not allowed. Some airports do not allow landings before 6a and after 10p.
3. Onward flight connections; see below for more on this
4. It’s also making business travel convenient. As an example, you can work all day then take an overnight flight to Europe and arrive the next morning. If you fly in business class, you could get some rest on the flight and be ready to go when you arrive by using the airport arrival lounges.

Onward Flight Connections from Europe

Having daytime flights to Europe limits the number of same-day European connections you can have once you arrive in London-Heathrow. But if you overnight at the airport hotel, you can get onward flight connections first thing in the morning.

Want to map those onward options? Use the Airline Network Explorer to see hub connections from London.

What time do I arrive when I take daytime flights to Europe?

As shown below, the day flights arrive late at night, usually between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. This gives you plenty of time to get a good night’s rest and be ready for the next morning’s meetings or activities. Unless you’re a night owl and want to go see London by night :-).

What Cities Have Daytime Flights To Europe From The U.S.?

Boston, MA (BOS) To London-Heathrow (LHR)

British Airways (BA)

• BA238 departs  at 7:25 a.m. and arrives at 6:55 p.m. daily on a Boeing 777-200 with a flight time of 6h 30m

New York-JFK (JFK) to London-Heathrow (LHR)

British Airways (BA)

• BA178 departs at 7:50a and arrives at 7:45p daily on a Boeing 777-200ER with a flight time of 6h 55m

Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS)

• VS26 departs at 8:15a and arrives at 8:10p daily on a Boeing 787-9 with a flight time of 6h 55m

jetBlue Airways (B6)

• B6 1107 departs at 8:45a and arrives at 9:45p daily on an Airbus A321neo with a flight time of 7h

American Airlines (AA)

• AA142 departs at 9:30a and arrives at 9:40p six times a week on a Boeing 777-300ER with a flight time of 7h 10m

Newark, NJ (EWR) to London-Heathrow (LHR)

United Airlines (UA) – Star Alliance

• UA934 departs at 8:30a and arrives at 8:40p daily on a Boeing 767-300 with a flight time of 7h 10m
• UA122 departs at 9:30a and arrives at 9:20p daily on a Boeing 787-9 with a flight time of 6h 50m

Daytime Flights To Europe From Canada

There are a few flights to Europe from Canada as well. Let’s take a look.

Halifax, NS Canada (YHZ) to London-Heathrow (LHR)

Air Canada (AC) – Star Alliance

• AC868 departs at 11:05 a.m. and arrives at 9:00 p.m. daily on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 with a flight time of 5h 55m

What Time Is The Last Flight From London To The U.S.?

To make these daytime flights to London work, they have a paired flight that leaves London very late at night, since by the time it arrives, it would be too late to return. As a result, the airplane usually overnights; i.e. stays at the airport and leaves the next morning.

For someone flying for business, they are perfect as you can attend meetings all day and then take the last flight home. As a non-rev, you can have fun all day and then take the last flight back. These flights are actually perfect for day trips, as the return flight, and you can take an overnight flight in.

Let’s take a look at the return flights:

London-Heathrow (LHR) To Boston, MA (BOS)

British Airways (BA)

• BA 239 departs  at 8:10p and arrives at 10:35p daily on a Boeing 777-200ER with a flight time of 7h 25m

London-Heathrow (LHR) To New York-JFK (JFK)

American Airlines (AA)

• AA141 departs at 6:05p and arrives at 9:05p daily on a Boeing 777-200 with a flight time of 8h 00m

British Airways (BA)

• BA183 departs at 7:25p and arrives at 10:25p daily on a Boeing 777-200ER with a flight time of 8h 00m

Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS)

• VS25 departs at 8:05p and arrives at 10:50p daily on a Boeing 787-9 with a flight time of 7h 45m

London-Heathrow (LHR) To Newark, NJ (EWR)

United Airlines (UA)

• UA921 departs at 6:00 p.m. and arrives at 9:20p daily on a Boeing 767-300 with a flight time of 8h 20m

Go Deeper — Non-Rev Strategy Europe Non-Rev Planning Playbook Daytime flights are just the start. Get hub-by-hub routing strategies, partner-carrier tips, and load intel for cracking Europe on standby. Get the Playbook — $15 →

Looking For A Hotel When you Arrive?

A daytime flight lands you in London in the evening — too late for most onward connections — so you’ll likely overnight near the airport. Lock in a room before you go:

Flying non-rev and worried about getting stuck at the hub? The Airport Sleep Finder shows lounges, sleep pods, and hotels at LHR and other major hubs.

City Hotels

 

So how do you book these flights?

You can book directly with the airlines, or you can use an online travel agency such as the two shown below. 

Check schedules first. Confirm current times and aircraft for any of these routes with the Passrider flight schedule search. Flying non-rev? Check real-time loads at flightloads.passrider.com. 

Remember, you can check flight schedules for these daytime flights to Europe any time.

SkyScanner

Tailor your search for “Directs Only” (this is their terminology for nonstop flights and then sort by Departure time. Click here to book using Skyscanner.

Google Flights

You can sort by Departure Time so you can see the daytime flights first. Click on the one you want and then book on the airline’s website. remember to add your frequent flyer number so you can get credit.

Have you flown any of these flights? Or another daytime flight to Europe?

Remember, you can check flight schedules for these daytime flights to Europe any time.

Why Aren’t There Daytime Flights From The West Coast?

This is the question I get most from readers out west, and the answer comes down to simple geography. The West Coast is eight or nine hours behind Europe, and the flight itself takes 10 to 11 hours. If you do the math, and a flight that actually lands in Europe the same day would have to push back somewhere around 5 a.m., which means you’re at the airport by 2 or 3 a.m. No airline wants to staff that, and no passenger wants to fly it. So the flights that look like they leave in daytime from the West Coast still land the next morning, which makes them overnight flights in everything but name.

There’s a workaround, though, and it’s tailor-made for non-revs: position yourself at an East Coast gateway the night before, overnight there, and catch one of the genuine daytime departures the next morning. From New York, for example, you’ve got the widest set of options — here’s the full rundown of international nonstop flights from JFK for example, you can see a number of flights leaving before noon.

Do Daytime Flights To Europe Actually Help With Jet Lag?

Honest answer: it depends, and the experts don’t fully agree. Sleep scientists generally still favor the overnight flight, because landing in the morning lets you soak up daylight and keep your body clock in sync. The catch is that this only works if you can actually sleep on the plane — and plenty of us can’t.

That’s where the daytime flight earns its keep. For travelers who struggle to sleep in the air, and for business travelers, a daytime crossing can be a better option. You stay awake, you land in the evening, you have a light dinner, and you go to bed at a normal local hour instead of arriving wrecked at 7 a.m. with a full day ahead of you. The trade-off is that landing at 8 p.m. London time still feels like mid-afternoon to your body, so falling asleep right away can be tough. My take: if you sleep fine on planes, take the redeye. If you don’t, the daytime flight is worth chasing.

Are Daytime Flights To Europe Seasonal?

Some are, and this is the big reason I tell people to always check the schedule before they build a trip around one. The mainstay daytime flights to London tend to run year-round, but airlines have historically added other daytime options — to cities beyond London — only for the busy summer season, then pulled them in winter. They come and go year to year based on demand and aircraft availability.

That’s exactly why I don’t want you memorizing a flight from a blog post and assuming it’s still flying. Schedules shift every season. Before you plan, confirm the current departures with the Passrider flight schedule search, so you’re working from today’s reality, not last year’s.

What Actually Counts As A “Daytime” Flight?

Worth clearing this up, because it trips people up. A true daytime flight takes off from North America in the morning and lands in Europe the same day — usually in the evening. That’s the whole appeal: you travel in daylight and sleep in a real bed that night.

What doesn’t count is a flight that happens to leave at an odd hour but still lands the next morning. A late-morning or midday departure from the West Coast, for instance, still crosses overnight and touches down in Europe the following day — so it’s an overnight flight wearing a daytime departure time. When I list daytime flights, I mean same-day arrival. That’s the standard to hold any flight to before you count on it.

Are There Daytime Flights To Europe Other Than London?

London-Heathrow dominates the daytime category, and there’s a reason for that — it’s the most slot-constrained, most-served transatlantic destination, so it gets the widest range of timings, daytime ones included. Beyond London, daytime options to other European cities are rarer and tend to be seasonal (see above). There is one to Paris, but it is seasonal.

Who Should Take A Daytime Flight — Is It Worth It?

The daytime flight isn’t for everyone, but for the right traveler, it’s a game-changer. It’s worth it if you can’t sleep on planes, if you’re a business traveler who’d rather not lose a night of rest before meetings, or if you simply hate arriving at dawn and having to push through until evening.

For non-revs specifically, there’s a bonus the revenue crowd often overlooks: these flights are perfect for day trips. Take an overnight flight over, enjoy a full day, and grab the last evening flight home — all on standby. It’s one of the most satisfying ways to use your benefits. Just remember the non-rev golden rule: loads matter more than schedules, so always have a backup plan. If you want the full playbook on routing, hubs, and partner carriers for cracking Europe on standby, that’s exactly what the Europe Non-Rev Planning Playbook is built for. 

Daytime Flights to Europe — FAQ

Are there daytime flights from the U.S. to Europe?

Yes. Most transatlantic flights are overnight, but several U.S. cities — including Boston, New York (JFK), and Newark — offer daytime departures to London-Heathrow, plus one from Halifax in Canada.

Why are most transatlantic flights overnight?

A mix of limited landing slots, nighttime airport curfews, onward-connection timing in Europe, and business-travel convenience — you can work a full day, fly overnight, and land the next morning.

What time do daytime flights to Europe arrive?

They generally land in London in the evening, usually between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm, giving you time to rest before morning meetings, connections, or sightseeing.

Can I do a London day trip as a non-rev?

It’s one of the best uses of these flights: take an overnight flight over, enjoy a full day, and catch the last evening flight home. For routing strategy and load tips, see the Europe Non-Rev Planning Playbook.