The shortest answer to "how long is a flight from JFK to LAX?" is about 6 hours westbound, 5.5 hours eastbound. But the surrounding details — why directions differ, why scheduled times change with the seasons, and what affects the math — are worth knowing if you're planning to fly often.
Common U.S. transcontinental flight times
| Route | Westbound | Eastbound | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| JFK → LAX | 6h 5m | 5h 30m | 2,475 mi |
| JFK → SFO | 6h 30m | 5h 45m | 2,565 mi |
| BOS → SEA | 6h 25m | 5h 30m | 2,490 mi |
| ATL → SEA | 5h 45m | 4h 50m | 2,180 mi |
| ORD → LAX | 4h 30m | 3h 50m | 1,745 mi |
| DFW → LAX | 3h 25m | 3h 0m | 1,235 mi |
Why eastbound is faster
The jet stream — a high-altitude river of air at cruise levels — flows west to east at 50–150 mph. Eastbound flights ride it as a tailwind; westbound flights fight it as a headwind. The difference is typically 30–60 minutes on transcontinental routes.
The jet stream is strongest in winter. NY-to-LA flights in January take ~6.5 hours westbound while June flights take ~5.5 hours westbound. If you're sensitive to flight length, fly off-season.
International flight times from major U.S. cities
| Route | Outbound | Return | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| JFK → LHR (London) | 7h | 8h | 3,460 mi |
| JFK → CDG (Paris) | 7h 15m | 8h 15m | 3,625 mi |
| JFK → NRT (Tokyo) | 14h | 13h | 6,725 mi |
| LAX → NRT (Tokyo) | 11h 30m | 10h 30m | 5,475 mi |
| LAX → SYD (Sydney) | 15h | 13h 30m | 7,500 mi |
| JFK → DXB (Dubai) | 12h 30m | 14h | 6,840 mi |
The "great circle" twist
Plane routes look weirdly curved on most maps. JFK to Tokyo doesn't go straight across the Pacific — it arcs north over Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. JFK to Dubai goes north over Iceland and east across Russia (when airspace permits) or south over the Atlantic into the Mediterranean.
The reason: the Earth is a sphere. The shortest path between two points is the "great circle" — which on a flat map looks curved. Pilots fly great-circle routes for fuel efficiency. Routes spanning equatorial belts (e.g., Hawaii to Tahiti) come closer to looking straight on a flat projection.
Why scheduled times differ from cruise time
A flight's "block time" (gate-to-gate) includes:
- Taxi out (5–25 min depending on airport)
- Climb to cruise altitude (~30 min)
- Cruise time (the bulk)
- Descent (~30 min)
- Holding patterns (variable; 0–30 min in busy airspace)
- Taxi to gate (5–25 min)
So a 5-hour cruise at 540 mph for 2,700 miles becomes a 6-hour scheduled flight. Airlines pad schedules so they can hit on-time targets even with delays.
Aircraft type matters
Different jets cruise at different speeds:
- Boeing 737 / Airbus A320: 510 mph
- Boeing 757: 530 mph
- Boeing 777 / 787 / Airbus A350: 560 mph
- Boeing 747 / Airbus A380: 570 mph (but larger fuel reserves slow real-world ops)
- Regional jets: 460 mph
If you check different airlines on the same route, scheduled times can differ 15–30 min based on aircraft. Long-haul airlines tend toward faster planes; budget carriers toward 737s and A320s.
Wind on Pacific routes
The Pacific jet stream is even stronger than the Atlantic's. LAX to NRT westbound averages 11.5 hours; eastbound averages 10.5 hours — a full hour difference. Tokyo to LAX in summer can be as short as 9.5 hours with a strong tailwind.
Time zone effect on scheduling
A flight from LAX to NRT departs at 11 AM Tuesday and arrives at 4 PM Wednesday Japan time. That looks like a 29-hour trip but is really 11.5 hours of flight + 17 hours of time zone shift (Tokyo is 16 hours ahead in summer, 17 in winter).
The "lost day" sensation crossing the date line is real but it's a clock illusion, not extra travel time.
How airlines pick scheduled times
FAA-tracked on-time performance uses a 14-minute window. So airlines pad schedules to give themselves margin. The average pad has grown over the decades — flights are scheduled longer than they used to be, then often arrive "early" relative to the schedule.
Use the calculator
Our flight time calculator handles the basic math: distance ÷ ground speed = duration. Add a buffer of 30–45 minutes for taxi, holding, and approach to get a realistic gate-to-gate estimate.