---
title: "Paris to Los Angeles (CDG → LAX): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Paris to Los Angeles is 9,103 km (5,656 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 49m 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/cdg-to-lax
---

CDG → LAX

# Paris to Los Angeles: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Charles de Gaulle to Los Angeles is 9,103 km of great circle — 5,656 mi — and an estimated 11h 49m in the air. It crosses from Europe to North America.

**Great circle**
9,103 km
5,656 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 49m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
61.9°N
at 38% along

**One lap of Earth**
22.7%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 59th longest.

The Paris to Los Angeles route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Paris the path crosses France, then United Kingdom, then 2,139 km of open water, then Greenland, then 1,092 km of open water, then Canada, then 592 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 61.9°N, 38% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 10,142 km. That is 1,039 km further, about 11% more, and roughly 1h 17m of extra flying.

Leaving Paris the aircraft points north-west (314°); it arrives into Los Angeles heading south-west (215°). That is 99° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.

One economy seat on it is about 1.29 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

CDG

## Charles de Gaulle

Paris, France · Europe

49.0°N, 2.6°E

[CDG airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/cdg) [Flights to Paris →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/paris)

To

LAX

## Los Angeles

Los Angeles, United States · North America

33.9°N, 118.4°W

[LAX airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lax) [Flights to Los Angeles →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/los-angeles)

## Paris to Los Angeles, asked and answered

**How far is Paris to Los Angeles?**
Paris to Los Angeles (CDG to LAX) is 9,103 km, or 5,656 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Paris to Los Angeles?**
About 11h 49m 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 Paris to Los Angeles flight take?**
The great circle passes over France, then United Kingdom, then 2,139 km of open water, then Greenland, then 1,092 km of open water, then Canada, then 592 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States. It reaches 61.9°N 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

[FRA → LAX Frankfurt to Los Angeles 9,322 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/fra-to-lax) [CDG → RUN Paris to Réunion 9,370 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-run) [LAX → HND Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,812 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hnd) [LHR → LAX London to Los Angeles 8,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lax) [LAX → NRT Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,753 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-nrt) [CDG → HKG Paris to Hong Kong 9,590 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-hkg)

## 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/cdg-to-lax for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt