The best flights from London to New York

Most international travellers will have to queue at US customs, but these days this is often not much longer than the time for bags to arrive so your door-to-door time isn't affected.

US Customs and Border Protection shows a spike in longer queues for arrivals from 11am to 6pm and 8pm to 11pm, where your door-to-door journey could be delayed. You can avoid this by choosing flights that depart London between 4pm and 5pm.

Two alternatives exist: US Global Entry programme makes it very quick to be processed, typically a couple of minutes. You could also pre-clear US customs at a connecting airport in Ireland or Canada.

Make the most of your trip to New York by feeling more awake. Flights that depart London between noon and 5pm make it easier to adjust to the local timezone on the day you land - "day 1 jetlag".

To defy jetlag, you need to try to avoid stretching your travel day out too long. But, the hours in a long haul travel day add up quickly:

• Flights from London to New York are typically 7–8 hours long.

• Add 2-3 hours in airports

• Add 2-3 hours getting to and from each airport

Your total door-to-door travel time becomes near the peak of your typical endurance. Most adults are awake for about 16-17 hours in a 24-hour period. An inflight nap will help, but picking better timed flights will make the most difference.

Flights that depart before noon will depart in the middle of the night in New York. Most people will be asleep there, but you will have been up for hours, getting to the airport, checking in, then taking off. Stretching out your day like this creates the perfect conditions for awful day 1 jetlag.

It's helpful to think of the earlier flights as "overnight" flights, instead of daylight flights. If you do have to take these earlier flights, plan to sleep deeply, avoid caffeine before you board, then "restart your day" with your pre-arrival meal service. It helps to plan to be active and outside when you land too, and avoid going to bed too early so you sleep through to the following morning.

Flights that depart after 5pm will land into New York in the middle of the night London time. Your body clock will be craving sleep, but you'll have to deal with immigration, collecting bags, and then getting to wherever you're staying first.

Treat these later flights as a long and lazy evening. Try to avoid sleeping deeply onboard, and aim for a place to stay near the airport. A good nights sleep in a real bed will help reset your body clock and minimise your day 2 jetlag.

Virgin Atlantic's A330neos feature their best hard products in every cabin. Even in Economy, it is a markedly better product with plenty of twin seats thanks to the 2-4-2 configuration. That's great for couples and groups. Solo travellers have fewer 'strangers' to navigate. There's easiest aisle access for window seat lovers. Huge screens, bluetooth for your own headphones, and deep recline.

Premium Economy comes in a 2-3-2 setup.

Business Class gets the latest Upper Class Suite with forward-facing suites with doors and aisle-access. These give the best setup for sleep, work, and window-gazing. You can also book extra space in their new 'Retreat Suite' as an individual or couple.

Studies show the effects of lower cabin altitude (more oxygen and humidity) help with feeling less fatigued when you land.

787s, A350s and A380s have lower cabin altitudes than other aircraft. On long flights, like from London to New York, you'll notice your skin, mouth, and nose dry through the flight.