- Great circle
- 543 km
- 338 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 1h 11m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 37.6°N
- at 100% along
- One lap of Earth
- 1.4%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 279th 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 37.6°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.
The heading barely moves: north-west out of Los Angeles, north-west into San Francisco. Over this distance the curve has too little room to bend the compass.
LAX
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States · North America
33.9°N, 118.4°W
SFO
San Francisco
San Francisco, United States · North America
37.6°N, 122.4°W
Los Angeles to San Francisco, asked and answered
- How far is Los Angeles to San Francisco?
- Los Angeles to San Francisco (LAX to SFO) is 543 km, or 338 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco?
- About 1h 11m 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 San Francisco flight take?
- The great circle passes over the United States. It reaches 37.6°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.
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