New York (JFK) to London (LHR) Flights
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About this route
JFK to Heathrow is the busiest long-haul market in the world and the schedule shows it, with departures through most of the day and a heavy evening bank that puts you into London the following morning. About seven hours going east, closer to eight coming home, because the jet stream helps on the way out and fights you on the way back.
The overnight is the default, and it is also the problem
Almost everyone takes the evening departure. It is convenient and it costs you a day of holiday less. It is also a very short night. Once the meal service is finished you have maybe four or five usable hours before the cabin lights come up somewhere over Ireland. People land at seven in the morning, cannot check into a hotel until three, and spend their first day in London half awake. If that first morning matters, either take a daytime departure and arrive in the evening, or book the hotel from the night before so the room is already waiting.
Heathrow or Gatwick
Heathrow has the depth of schedule and the better run into central London, whether that is the Piccadilly line if you are watching the budget or the Elizabeth line if you are not. Gatwick can be cheaper and makes sense if you are heading south, but the train adds half an hour and your options get thin if something goes wrong. Terminals matter here too. British Airways runs most of its long-haul from Terminal 5, which is effectively its own airport with its own security queue, so check before you plan anything tight around it.
Do not fix yourself to JFK
JFK is not the only way to London. Newark is frequently cheaper and, from large parts of the metro area, faster to reach. Being flexible on the New York end is usually worth more than being flexible on the London end, and it is the first thing we check when a fare comes back higher than you expected.
When it is actually cheapest
January and February, then late autumn. Summer and the two weeks around Christmas are expensive however far ahead you book. Midweek beats weekend by a reliable margin. Two to three months out tends to be the sweet spot, because booking a year ahead rarely helps on a route with this much capacity, and inside three weeks the cheaper buckets are gone.