How long is a flight? Roughly half an hour for taxiing, take-off and landing, plus about an hour for every 830 km (515 miles) of distance. That simple rule, which our flight time calculator uses, lands within about an hour of most airline schedules, closer on short routes. Here are 30 popular routes worked out that way, with their distances and time differences.
Across the Atlantic
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Time difference |
|---|
| New York – London | 5,540 km · 3,442 mi | ~7h 10m | +5h |
|---|
| Boston – Dublin | 4,804 km · 2,985 mi | ~6h 17m | +5h |
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| New York – Paris | 5,834 km · 3,625 mi | ~7h 32m | +6h |
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| Toronto – London | 5,707 km · 3,546 mi | ~7h 23m | +5h |
|---|
| Miami – Madrid | 7,106 km · 4,415 mi | ~9h 4m | +6h |
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| Chicago – Frankfurt | 6,971 km · 4,331 mi | ~8h 54m | +7h |
|---|
Within North America
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Time difference |
|---|
| New York – Los Angeles | 3,974 km · 2,469 mi | ~5h 17m | −3h |
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| New York – Miami | 1,757 km · 1,092 mi | ~2h 37m | same time |
|---|
| Chicago – Los Angeles | 2,802 km · 1,741 mi | ~3h 53m | −2h |
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| San Francisco – Seattle | 1,093 km · 679 mi | ~1h 49m | same time |
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| Los Angeles – Honolulu | 4,108 km · 2,553 mi | ~5h 27m | −2h |
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| Toronto – Vancouver | 3,346 km · 2,079 mi | ~4h 32m | −3h |
|---|
To and within Asia and the Middle East
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Time difference |
|---|
| London – Dubai | 5,498 km · 3,417 mi | ~7h 7m | +4h |
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| Dubai – Mumbai | 1,925 km · 1,196 mi | ~2h 49m | +1h 30m |
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| London – New Delhi | 6,731 km · 4,183 mi | ~8h 37m | +5h 30m |
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| Singapore – Hong Kong | 2,566 km · 1,594 mi | ~3h 35m | same time |
|---|
| Tokyo – Seoul | 1,210 km · 752 mi | ~1h 57m | same time |
|---|
| Los Angeles – Tokyo | 8,812 km · 5,476 mi | ~11h 7m | +17h |
|---|
Long-haul classics
| Route | Distance | Flight time | Time difference |
|---|
| London – Singapore | 10,883 km · 6,762 mi | ~13h 37m | +8h |
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| Sydney – Los Angeles | 12,061 km · 7,494 mi | ~15h 2m | −19h |
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| New York – Hong Kong | 12,970 km · 8,059 mi | ~16h 8m | +13h |
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| Sydney – Auckland | 2,159 km · 1,342 mi | ~3h 6m | +2h |
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| São Paulo – Lisbon | 7,935 km · 4,930 mi | ~10h 4m | +3h |
|---|
| Johannesburg – London | 9,075 km · 5,639 mi | ~11h 26m | −2h |
|---|
Gate-to-gate estimates from the great-circle distance; time differences in January. Daylight saving can change them by an hour.
Why the real schedule differs
- Wind. Eastbound flights ride the jet stream and westbound ones fight it, so across the Atlantic or Pacific the eastbound schedule is often an hour or more shorter. See why flying east is faster.
- Routing. Planes rarely fly the exact great circle: airspace, weather and traffic add distance.
- Padding. Airlines build extra time into schedules for congestion at busy airports, which is why so many flights land “early”.
- The aircraft. Turboprops on short routes fly slower than jets.
Look up any route
The flight time calculator works out any pair of 3,200+ airports, with the local arrival time. For everywhere you can reach in a given time, Where can I fly? lists them all, and if you can't decide, the random destination generator picks one for you.
Every one of these is a focus session
In Flight, these routes are focus timers: London to Paris for a short session, New York to Los Angeles for an afternoon. Pick by how long you want to work.
Questions
How long is a flight from New York to London?
About seven hours eastbound on most schedules, and closer to eight westbound, because of the jet stream. The great-circle distance is about 5,540 km (3,440 miles).
How do you calculate flight time?
A good estimate is half an hour for taxiing, take-off and landing plus the distance divided by an average speed of about 830 km/h (515 mph). Real flight times vary with the wind, the route and the aircraft.
Why are return flights a different length?
Mostly the wind. The jet stream blows from west to east at cruising altitude, speeding up eastbound flights and slowing westbound ones, so airlines schedule them differently.
What is block time?
The airline term for the time from when a plane leaves the gate to when it arrives at the gate, including taxiing. It's the time shown on your ticket, and what our flight time estimates aim at.