---
title: "New York to Seattle (JFK → SEA): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "New York to Seattle is 3,887 km (2,415 mi) great circle, an estimated 5h 20m 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/jfk-to-sea
---

JFK → SEA

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

John F. Kennedy to Seattle–Tacoma is 3,887 km of great circle — 2,415 mi — and an estimated 5h 20m in the air. Both ends are in North America.

**Great circle**
3,887 km
2,415 mi

**Estimated in the air**
5h 20m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
47.8°N
at 82% along

**One lap of Earth**
9.7%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 151st longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From New York the path crosses the United States, then Canada, then the United States.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 47.8°N, 82% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 3,946 km. That is 59 km further, about 2% more, and roughly 4m of extra flying.

Leaving New York the aircraft points north-west (298°); it arrives into Seattle heading west (263°). That is 35° 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 551 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

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)

To

SEA

## Seattle–Tacoma

Seattle, United States · North America

47.4°N, 122.3°W

[SEA airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/sea) [Flights to Seattle →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/seattle)

## New York to Seattle, asked and answered

**How far is New York to Seattle?**
New York to Seattle (JFK to SEA) is 3,887 km, or 2,415 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from New York to Seattle?**
About 5h 20m 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 New York to Seattle flight take?**
The great circle passes over the United States, then Canada, then the United States. It reaches 47.8°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 → LAX New York to Los Angeles 3,974 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-lax) [JFK → SFO New York to San Francisco 4,152 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-sfo) [KEF → JFK Reykjavík to New York 4,163 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/kef-to-jfk) [SEA → HNL Seattle to Honolulu 4,308 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sea-to-hnl) [DUB → JFK Dublin to New York 5,103 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/dub-to-jfk) [JFK → DEN New York to Denver 2,610 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-den)

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