- Great circle
- 5,540 km
- 3,442 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 7h 23m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 53.7°N
- at 28% along
- One lap of Earth
- 13.8%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 118th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,088 km of open water, then Canada, then 568 km of open water, then the United States.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 53.7°N, 28% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 5,758 km. That is 219 km further, about 4% more, and roughly 16m of extra flying.
Leaving London the aircraft points west (288°); it arrives into New York heading south-west (231°). That is 57° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
JFK
John F. Kennedy
New York, United States · North America
40.6°N, 73.8°W
London to New York, asked and answered
- How far is London to New York?
- London to New York (LHR to JFK) is 5,540 km, or 3,442 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from London to New York?
- About 7h 23m 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 New York flight take?
- The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then Ireland, then 3,088 km of open water, then Canada, then 568 km of open water, then the United States. 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.
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