---
title: "Melbourne to Los Angeles (MEL → LAX): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Melbourne to Los Angeles is 12,758 km (7,928 mi) great circle, an estimated 16h 21m 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/mel-to-lax
---

MEL → LAX

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

Melbourne to Los Angeles is 12,758 km of great circle — 7,928 mi — and an estimated 16h 21m in the air. It crosses from Oceania to North America.

**Great circle**
12,758 km
7,928 mi

**Estimated in the air**
16h 21m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
37.7°S
at 0% along

**One lap of Earth**
31.8%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 21st longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Melbourne the path crosses Australia, then 3,285 km of open water, then Fiji, then 8,548 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 37.7°S, 0% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 12,804 km. That is 46 km further, about 0% more, and roughly 3m of extra flying.

Leaving Melbourne the aircraft points north-east (65°); it arrives into Los Angeles heading north-east (60°). That is 5° 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 1.81 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

MEL

## Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia · Oceania

37.7°S, 144.8°E

[MEL airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/mel) [Flights to Melbourne →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/melbourne)

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)

## Melbourne to Los Angeles, asked and answered

**How far is Melbourne to Los Angeles?**
Melbourne to Los Angeles (MEL to LAX) is 12,758 km, or 7,928 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles?**
About 16h 21m 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 Melbourne to Los Angeles flight take?**
The great circle passes over Australia, then 3,285 km of open water, then Fiji, then 8,548 km of open water. It reaches 37.7°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.

[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 → MEL Los Angeles to Melbourne 12,758 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-mel) [LAX → SYD Los Angeles to Sydney 12,061 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-syd) [LAX → HKG Los Angeles to Hong Kong 11,664 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hkg) [LAX → SIN Los Angeles to Singapore 14,102 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-sin) [SIN → LAX Singapore to Los Angeles 14,102 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sin-to-lax) [LAX → AKL Los Angeles to Auckland 10,487 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-akl)

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