- Great circle
- 2,802 km
- 1,741 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 3h 59m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 42.0°N
- at 100% along
- One lap of Earth
- 7.0%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 171st longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Los Angeles the path crosses the United States.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 42.0°N, 100% 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 Los Angeles the aircraft points north-east (62°); it arrives into Chicago heading east (81°). That is 19° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
LAX
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States · North America
33.9°N, 118.4°W
Los Angeles to Chicago, asked and answered
- How far is Los Angeles to Chicago?
- Los Angeles to Chicago (LAX to ORD) is 2,802 km, or 1,741 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Chicago?
- About 3h 59m 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 Los Angeles to Chicago flight take?
- The great circle passes over the United States. It reaches 42.0°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.
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