---
title: "Auckland to Christchurch (AKL → CHC): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Auckland to Christchurch is 745 km (463 mi) great circle, an estimated 1h 26m in the air. The route, what it flies over, and why the short way is not the straight line on a map."
url: https://orbitflights.app/routes/akl-to-chc
---

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](https://orbitflights.app/routes), 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.

One economy seat on it is about 110 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

[AKL–CHC carbon footprint →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-carbon-calculator?from=AKL&to=CHC) [Map this route →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-route-map?r=AKL-CHC)

From

AKL

## Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand · Oceania

37.0°S, 174.8°E

[AKL airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/akl) [Flights to Auckland →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/auckland)

To

CHC

## Christchurch

Christchurch, New Zealand · Oceania

43.5°S, 172.5°E

[CHC airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/chc)

## 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 →](https://orbitflights.app/blog/great-circle-routes-explained)

## Flown this one?

Orbit logs it in two taps and draws the arc on your own globe, along with every other flight you can remember. Free for your first 15.

[Download now](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qwertybit.orbit)

## Nearby routes

[AKL → ZQN Auckland to Queenstown 1,024 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/akl-to-zqn) [SYD → CHC Sydney to Christchurch 2,126 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/syd-to-chc) [AKL → NAN Auckland to Nadi 2,156 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/akl-to-nan) [SYD → AKL Sydney to Auckland 2,159 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/syd-to-akl) [BNE → AKL Brisbane to Auckland 2,295 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/bne-to-akl) [MEL → AKL Melbourne to Auckland 2,637 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mel-to-akl)

## Further reading

[How many miles do you have to fly around the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/how-many-miles-to-fly-around-the-world) [What is on the exact opposite side of the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/opposite-side-of-the-world) [What's actually worth counting in a flight log](https://orbitflights.app/blog/what-is-worth-counting-in-a-flight-log)

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Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/akl-to-chc for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt