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AKL → CHC

Auckland to Christchurch: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Auckland to Christchurch is 745 km of great circle — 463 mi — and an estimated 1h 26m in the air. Both ends are in Oceania.

Great circle
745 km
463 mi
Estimated in the air
1h 26m
block time
Furthest from equator
43.5°S
at 100% along
One lap of Earth
1.9%
of 40,075 km

Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 267th longest.

The Auckland to Christchurch route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

What the aircraft actually flies over

From Auckland the path crosses 192 km of open water, then New Zealand, then 197 km of open water, then New Zealand.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 43.5°S, 100% of the way along.

Holding a single compass bearing the whole way would cover almost exactly the same ground, so on this route the flat map and the globe agree.

The heading barely moves: south out of Auckland, south into Christchurch. Over this distance the curve has too little room to bend the compass.

From

AKL

Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand · Oceania

37.0°S, 174.8°E

To

CHC

Christchurch

Christchurch, New Zealand · Oceania

43.5°S, 172.5°E

Auckland to Christchurch, asked and answered

How far is Auckland to Christchurch?
Auckland to Christchurch (AKL to CHC) is 745 km, or 463 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
How long is the flight from Auckland to Christchurch?
About 1h 26m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.
What route does a Auckland to Christchurch flight take?
The great circle passes over 192 km of open water, then New Zealand, then 197 km of open water, then New Zealand. It reaches 43.5°S at its furthest from the equator.

Where these numbers come from

Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.

Why the shortest path is a curve →

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