---
title: "New York to San Juan (JFK → SJU): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "New York to San Juan is 2,578 km (1,602 mi) great circle, an estimated 3h 42m 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-sju
---

JFK → SJU

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

John F. Kennedy to Luis Munoz Marin is 2,578 km of great circle — 1,602 mi — and an estimated 3h 42m in the air. Both ends are in North America.

**Great circle**
2,578 km
1,602 mi

**Estimated in the air**
3h 42m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
40.6°N
at 0% along

**One lap of Earth**
6.4%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 177th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From New York the path crosses 2,571 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 40.6°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.

The heading barely moves: south out of New York, south into San Juan. Over this distance the curve has too little room to bend the compass.

One economy seat on it is about 382 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

SJU

## Luis Munoz Marin

San Juan, Puerto Rico · North America

18.4°N, 66.0°W

[SJU airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/sju)

## New York to San Juan, asked and answered

**How far is New York to San Juan?**
New York to San Juan (JFK to SJU) is 2,578 km, or 1,602 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from New York to San Juan?**
About 3h 42m 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 San Juan flight take?**
The great circle passes over 2,571 km of open water. It reaches 40.6°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 → DEN New York to Denver 2,610 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-den) [JFK → CUN New York to Cancún 2,506 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-cun) [JFK → MIA New York to Miami 1,757 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-mia) [JFK → SEA New York to Seattle 3,887 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-sea) [JFK → ORD New York to Chicago 1,188 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-ord) [JFK → LAX New York to Los Angeles 3,974 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-lax)

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