---
title: "London to Boston (LHR → BOS): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Boston is 5,240 km (3,256 mi) great circle, an estimated 7h 01m 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/lhr-to-bos
---

LHR → BOS

# London to Boston: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

London Heathrow to Boston Logan is 5,240 km of great circle — 3,256 mi — and an estimated 7h 01m in the air. It crosses from Europe to North America.

**Great circle**
5,240 km
3,256 mi

**Estimated in the air**
7h 01m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
53.7°N
at 29% along

**One lap of Earth**
13.1%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 124th longest.

The London to Boston route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,105 km of open water, then Canada, then 550 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 53.7°N, 29% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 5,435 km. That is 195 km further, about 4% more, and roughly 15m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points west (288°); it arrives into Boston heading south-west (233°). That is 55° 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 742 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

LHR

## London Heathrow

London, United Kingdom · Europe

51.5°N, 0.5°W

[LHR airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lhr) [Flights to London →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/london)

To

BOS

## Boston Logan

Boston, United States · North America

42.4°N, 71.0°W

[BOS airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/bos)

## London to Boston, asked and answered

**How far is London to Boston?**
London to Boston (LHR to BOS) is 5,240 km, or 3,256 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Boston?**
About 7h 01m 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 London to Boston flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,105 km of open water, then Canada, then 550 km of open water. It reaches 53.7°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

[LHR → DOH London to Doha 5,241 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-doh) [LHR → ACC London to Accra 5,100 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-acc) [LHR → LOS London to Lagos 5,004 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-los) [LHR → DXB London to Dubai 5,498 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-dxb) [LHR → AUH London to Abu Dhabi 5,516 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-auh) [LHR → RUH London to Riyadh 4,940 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-ruh)

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