- Great circle
- 1,738 km
- 1,080 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 2h 40m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 35.5°N
- at 0% along
- One lap of Earth
- 4.3%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 209th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Tokyo the path crosses Japan, then 838 km of open water.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 35.5°N, 0% 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.
Leaving Tokyo the aircraft points west (259°); it arrives into Shanghai heading west (249°). That is 10° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
Tokyo to Shanghai, asked and answered
- How far is Tokyo to Shanghai?
- Tokyo to Shanghai (HND to PVG) is 1,738 km, or 1,080 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Tokyo to Shanghai?
- About 2h 40m 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 Tokyo to Shanghai flight take?
- The great circle passes over Japan, then 838 km of open water. It reaches 35.5°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.
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