---
title: "Los Angeles to Shanghai (LAX → PVG): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Los Angeles to Shanghai is 10,415 km (6,472 mi) great circle, an estimated 13h 27m 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/lax-to-pvg
---

LAX → PVG

# Los Angeles to Shanghai: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Los Angeles to Shanghai Pudong is 10,415 km of great circle — 6,472 mi — and an estimated 13h 27m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**Great circle**
10,415 km
6,472 mi

**Estimated in the air**
13h 27m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
51.9°N
at 48% along

**One lap of Earth**
26.0%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 36th longest.

The Los Angeles to Shanghai route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Los Angeles the path crosses the United States, then 7,603 km of open water, then Japan, then 1,094 km of open water, then South Korea, then 573 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 51.9°N, 48% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 11,231 km. That is 815 km further, about 8% more, and roughly 1h 01m of extra flying.

Leaving Los Angeles the aircraft points north-west (312°); it arrives into Shanghai heading south-west (226°). That is 86° 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 1.48 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

LAX

## Los Angeles

Los Angeles, United States · North America

33.9°N, 118.4°W

[LAX airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lax) [Flights to Los Angeles →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/los-angeles)

To

PVG

## Shanghai Pudong

Shanghai, China · Asia

31.1°N, 121.8°E

[PVG airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/pvg) [Flights to Shanghai →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/shanghai)

## Los Angeles to Shanghai, asked and answered

**How far is Los Angeles to Shanghai?**
Los Angeles to Shanghai (LAX to PVG) is 10,415 km, or 6,472 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai?**
About 13h 27m 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 Shanghai flight take?**
The great circle passes over the United States, then 7,603 km of open water, then Japan, then 1,094 km of open water, then South Korea, then 573 km of open water. It reaches 51.9°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

[LAX → AKL Los Angeles to Auckland 10,487 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-akl) [LAX → PEK Los Angeles to Beijing 10,037 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-pek) [SFO → PVG San Francisco to Shanghai 9,877 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-pvg) [LAX → ICN Los Angeles to Seoul 9,625 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-icn) [FRA → LAX Frankfurt to Los Angeles 9,322 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/fra-to-lax) [LHR → PVG London to Shanghai 9,241 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-pvg)

## 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)

---
Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-pvg for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt