- Great circle
- 9,877 km
- 6,138 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 12h 47m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 52.4°N
- at 45% along
- One lap of Earth
- 24.6%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 43rd longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From San Francisco the path crosses 7,482 km of open water, then Japan, then 1,136 km of open water, then South Korea, then 568 km of open water.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 52.4°N, 45% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 10,642 km. That is 765 km further, about 8% more, and roughly 57m of extra flying.
Leaving San Francisco the aircraft points north-west (310°); it arrives into Shanghai heading south-west (225°). That is 84° 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 Shanghai, asked and answered
- How far is San Francisco to Shanghai?
- San Francisco to Shanghai (SFO to PVG) is 9,877 km, or 6,138 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from San Francisco to Shanghai?
- About 12h 47m 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 Shanghai flight take?
- The great circle passes over 7,482 km of open water, then Japan, then 1,136 km of open water, then South Korea, then 568 km of open water. It reaches 52.4°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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