---
title: "London to Los Angeles (LHR → LAX): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Los Angeles is 8,760 km (5,443 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 23m 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-lax
---

LHR → LAX

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

London Heathrow to Los Angeles is 8,760 km of great circle — 5,443 mi — and an estimated 11h 23m in the air. It crosses from Europe to North America.

**Great circle**
8,760 km
5,443 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 23m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
62.3°N
at 35% along

**One lap of Earth**
21.9%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 66th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 2,124 km of open water, then Greenland, then 1,051 km of open water, then Canada, then 635 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 62.3°N, 35% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 9,732 km. That is 972 km further, about 11% more, and roughly 1h 13m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points north-west (312°); it arrives into Los Angeles heading south-west (214°). That is 98° 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 1.24 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

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)

## London to Los Angeles, asked and answered

**How far is London to Los Angeles?**
London to Los Angeles (LHR to LAX) is 8,760 km, or 5,443 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Los Angeles?**
About 11h 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 Los Angeles flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 2,124 km of open water, then Greenland, then 1,051 km of open water, then Canada, then 635 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States. It reaches 62.3°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 → NRT Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,753 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-nrt) [LHR → CMB London to Colombo 8,715 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-cmb) [LAX → HND Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,812 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hnd) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn) [LHR → SFO London to San Francisco 8,616 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sfo) [LHR → MLE London to Malé 8,539 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mle)

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