---
title: "Hong Kong to New York (HKG → JFK): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Hong Kong to New York is 12,970 km (8,059 mi) great circle, an estimated 16h 37m 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/hkg-to-jfk
---

HKG → JFK

# Hong Kong to New York: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Hong Kong to John F. Kennedy is 12,970 km of great circle — 8,059 mi — and an estimated 16h 37m in the air. It crosses from Asia to North America.

**Great circle**
12,970 km
8,059 mi

**Estimated in the air**
16h 37m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
84.0°N
at 58% along

**One lap of Earth**
32.4%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 19th longest.

The Hong Kong to New York route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Hong Kong the path crosses China, then Russia, then 3,243 km of open water, then Canada, then 681 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States.

The great circle reaches 84.0°N, inside the Arctic circle — which is why the route looks like a detour over the top of the world on a flat map, and like the obvious line on a globe.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 16,345 km. That is 3,375 km further, about 26% more, and roughly 4h 12m of extra flying.

Leaving Hong Kong the aircraft points north (7°); it arrives into New York heading south (172°). That is 166° 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 1.84 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

HKG

## Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong · Asia

22.3°N, 113.9°E

[HKG airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/hkg) [Flights to Hong Kong →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/hong-kong)

To

JFK

## John F. Kennedy

New York, United States · North America

40.6°N, 73.8°W

[JFK airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/jfk) [Flights to New York →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/new-york)

## Hong Kong to New York, asked and answered

**How far is Hong Kong to New York?**
Hong Kong to New York (HKG to JFK) is 12,970 km, or 8,059 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Hong Kong to New York?**
About 16h 37m 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 Hong Kong to New York flight take?**
The great circle passes over China, then Russia, then 3,243 km of open water, then Canada, then 681 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States. It reaches 84.0°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

[JFK → HKG New York to Hong Kong 12,970 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-hkg) [MNL → JFK Manila to New York 13,696 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mnl-to-jfk) [AKL → JFK Auckland to New York 14,215 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/akl-to-jfk) [LAX → HKG Los Angeles to Hong Kong 11,664 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hkg) [SFO → HKG San Francisco to Hong Kong 11,128 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-hkg) [JFK → ICN New York to Seoul 11,089 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-icn)

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