JetSetAuthority

Route · Trans-Pacific

JFK New York ⇄ HKG Hong Kong

John F. Kennedy International Airport (United States) and Hong Kong International Airport (Hong Kong): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance12,970 km8,059 mi7,003 nautical miles
JFK → HKG15 h 55 minestimated block time
HKG → JFK15 h 40 minestimated block time
Clock change+12 hHong Kong vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Hong Kong (HKG)JFKNew YorkHKGHong Kong
The shortest path over the Earth’s surface (great circle), drawn on a Natural Earth projection. Real flight paths bend around weather, winds and closed airspace.

Flight time each way

JFK → HKG

15 h 55 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 352° (N).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Hong Kong Sun 8 Nov, 14:55 local +1 day.

HKG → JFK

15 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 7° (N).

Leave Hong Kong Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 12:40 local.

HKG-bound flights are the slower direction by about 20 minutes in our estimate: the route runs partly east–west through latitudes where the prevailing westerly winds at cruise height are strong, so heading east rides a tailwind and heading west fights a headwind. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance12,970 km · 8,059 mi · 7,003 nmi
Initial heading352° (N) from JFK; 7° (N) from HKG
Farthest from the equator84.0°N — the path arcs north of both airports
Crossesthe 180th meridian (International Date Line area)
Share of the longest possible trip65% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

JFKAmerica/New_York — UTC−4 now; UTC−5 standard time, UTC−4 during daylight saving time
HKGAsia/Hong_Kong — UTC+8 now; UTC+8 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceHong Kong is 12 hours ahead of New York today; +13 h in January and +12 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying JFK → HKG. A 12-hour shift turns day into night: the body clock is as far out as it can be, and it makes little difference which way it adjusts. A common rule of thumb is that it adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to a week or more to feel fully normal. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

JFK John F. Kennedy International AirportNew York, United States · longest runway 14,511 ft4,423 m HKG Hong Kong International AirportHong Kong, Hong Kong · longest runway 12,467 ft3,800 m

More routes from JFK and HKG

JFKBOS New York – Boston 300 km186 mi · 1 h 20 min JFKDEN New York – Denver 2,610 km1,622 mi · 4 h 20 min JFKLHR New York – London 5,540 km3,442 mi · 6 h 50 min JFKMUC New York – Munich 6,481 km4,027 mi · 7 h 50 min DOHJFK Doha – New York 10,770 km6,692 mi · 14 h 15 min SINJFK Singapore – New York 15,341 km9,532 mi · 18 h 30 min HKGTPE Hong Kong – Taipei 806 km501 mi · 1 h 55 min HKGBKK Hong Kong – Bangkok 1,690 km1,050 mi · 3 h HKGSIN Hong Kong – Singapore 2,566 km1,594 mi · 4 h SYDHKG Sydney – Hong Kong 7,394 km4,595 mi · 9 h 35 min YVRHKG Vancouver – Hong Kong 10,269 km6,381 mi · 13 h 30 min YYZHKG Toronto – Hong Kong 12,548 km7,797 mi · 15 h 35 min

Routes of a similar length

SINSEA Singapore – Seattle 12,979 km8,065 mi · 15 h LAXMEL Los Angeles – Melbourne 12,758 km7,928 mi · 16 h 10 min DXBLAX Dubai – Los Angeles 13,400 km8,327 mi · 16 h 25 min YVRSYD Vancouver – Sydney 12,501 km7,768 mi · 15 h 50 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).