---
title: "London to San Francisco (LHR → SFO): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to San Francisco is 8,616 km (5,354 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 12m 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-sfo
---

LHR → SFO

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

London Heathrow to San Francisco is 8,616 km of great circle — 5,354 mi — and an estimated 11h 12m in the air. It crosses from Europe to North America.

**Great circle**
8,616 km
5,354 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 12m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
64.6°N
at 39% along

**One lap of Earth**
21.5%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 71st longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 2,111 km of open water, then Greenland, then 625 km of open water, then Canada, then 797 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 64.6°N, 39% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 9,715 km. That is 1,099 km further, about 13% more, and roughly 1h 22m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points north-west (316°); it arrives into San Francisco heading south-west (213°). That is 104° 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 1.22 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

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

SFO

## San Francisco

San Francisco, United States · North America

37.6°N, 122.4°W

[SFO airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/sfo) [Flights to San Francisco →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/san-francisco)

## London to San Francisco, asked and answered

**How far is London to San Francisco?**
London to San Francisco (LHR to SFO) is 8,616 km, or 5,354 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to San Francisco?**
About 11h 12m 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 San Francisco flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 2,111 km of open water, then Greenland, then 625 km of open water, then Canada, then 797 km of open water, then Canada, then the United States. It reaches 64.6°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.

[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 → MLE London to Malé 8,539 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mle) [LHR → CMB London to Colombo 8,715 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-cmb) [LHR → LAX London to Los Angeles 8,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lax) [LHR → ICN London to Seoul 8,861 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-icn) [SFO → HND San Francisco to Tokyo 8,285 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-hnd) [LHR → JNB London to Johannesburg 9,075 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-jnb)

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