- Great circle
- 6,310 km
- 3,921 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 8h 20m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 52.6°N
- at 38% along
- One lap of Earth
- 15.7%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 104th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Zurich the path crosses France, then United Kingdom, then 3,439 km of open water, then Canada, then 442 km of open water, then the United States.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 52.6°N, 38% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 6,612 km. That is 302 km further, about 5% more, and roughly 23m of extra flying.
Leaving Zurich the aircraft points north-west (296°); it arrives into New York heading south-west (233°). That is 63° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
JFK
John F. Kennedy
New York, United States · North America
40.6°N, 73.8°W
Zurich to New York, asked and answered
- How far is Zurich to New York?
- Zurich to New York (ZRH to JFK) is 6,310 km, or 3,921 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Zurich to New York?
- About 8h 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 Zurich to New York flight take?
- The great circle passes over France, then United Kingdom, then 3,439 km of open water, then Canada, then 442 km of open water, then the United States. It reaches 52.6°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.
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