- Great circle
- 11,128 km
- 6,915 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 14h 20m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 51.7°N
- at 39% along
- One lap of Earth
- 27.8%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 28th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From San Francisco the path crosses 7,344 km of open water, then Japan, then 1,975 km of open water, then China.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 51.7°N, 39% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 11,979 km. That is 852 km further, about 8% more, and roughly 1h 03m of extra flying.
Leaving San Francisco the aircraft points north-west (309°); it arrives into Hong Kong heading south-west (222°). That is 87° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
SFO
San Francisco
San Francisco, United States · North America
37.6°N, 122.4°W
San Francisco to Hong Kong, asked and answered
- How far is San Francisco to Hong Kong?
- San Francisco to Hong Kong (SFO to HKG) is 11,128 km, or 6,915 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong?
- About 14h 20m 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 San Francisco to Hong Kong flight take?
- The great circle passes over 7,344 km of open water, then Japan, then 1,975 km of open water, then China. It reaches 51.7°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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