---
title: "San Francisco to Hong Kong (SFO → HKG): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "San Francisco to Hong Kong is 11,128 km (6,915 mi) great circle, an estimated 14h 20m 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/sfo-to-hkg
---

SFO → HKG

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

San Francisco to Hong Kong is 11,128 km of great circle — 6,915 mi — and an estimated 14h 20m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**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](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 28th longest.

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

## 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.

One economy seat on it is about 1.58 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

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)

To

HKG

## Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong · Asia

22.3°N, 113.9°E

[HKG airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/hkg) [Flights to Hong Kong →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/hong-kong)

## 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.

[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 → HKG Los Angeles to Hong Kong 11,664 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hkg) [YVR → HKG Vancouver to Hong Kong 10,269 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/yvr-to-hkg) [SFO → PVG San Francisco to Shanghai 9,877 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-pvg) [DEL → SFO Delhi to San Francisco 12,382 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/del-to-sfo) [LHR → HKG London to Hong Kong 9,630 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hkg) [CDG → HKG Paris to Hong Kong 9,590 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-hkg)

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