- Great circle
- 12,061 km
- 7,494 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 15h 29m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 33.9°S
- at 100% along
- One lap of Earth
- 30.1%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 24th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Los Angeles the path crosses 12,031 km of open water.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 33.9°S, 100% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 12,093 km. That is 31 km further, about 0% more, and roughly 2m of extra flying.
It arrives on almost the heading it left on — south-west at both ends. The two airports sit at nearly mirrored latitudes, so the arc climbs away from the equator and falls back to it by the same amount, and the compass ends up where it started.
LAX
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States · North America
33.9°N, 118.4°W
SYD
Sydney Kingsford Smith
Sydney, Australia · Oceania
33.9°S, 151.2°E
Los Angeles to Sydney, asked and answered
- How far is Los Angeles to Sydney?
- Los Angeles to Sydney (LAX to SYD) is 12,061 km, or 7,494 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Sydney?
- About 15h 29m 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 Sydney flight take?
- The great circle passes over 12,031 km of open water. It reaches 33.9°S 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.
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.