JetSetAuthority

Route · United States and Canada

JFK New York ⇄ LAX Los Angeles

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

Distance3,974 km2,469 mi2,146 nautical miles
JFK → LAX6 h 05 minestimated block time
LAX → JFK5 h 10 minestimated block time
Clock change−3 hLos Angeles vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX)JFKNew YorkLAXLos Angeles
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 → LAX

6 h 05 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 274° (W).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 13:05 local.

LAX → JFK

5 h 10 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 66° (ENE).

Leave Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 18:10 local.

LAX-bound flights are the slower direction by about 55 minutes in our estimate: the route runs mostly 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 distance3,974 km · 2,469 mi · 2,146 nmi
Initial heading274° (W) from JFK; 66° (ENE) from LAX
Farthest from the equator40.8°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip20% 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
LAXAmerica/Los_Angeles — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
DifferenceLos Angeles is 3 hours behind New York today.

Jet lag, flying JFK → LAX. Your body clock has to move 3 hours later, like a westward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 3 days to fully adjust. Shifting later (as here) is usually the easier direction; evening daylight at the destination helps. 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 LAX Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles, United States · longest runway 12,894 ft3,930 m

Same cities, other airports

EWRLAX Newark – Los Angeles 3,941 km2,449 mi · 6 h 05 min

More routes from JFK and LAX

JFKBOS New York – Boston 300 km186 mi · 1 h 20 min JFKDEN New York – Denver 2,610 km1,622 mi · 4 h 20 min JFKMAD New York – Madrid 5,760 km3,579 mi · 7 h JFKFCO New York – Rome 6,866 km4,267 mi · 8 h 10 min JFKNRT New York – Tokyo 10,830 km6,729 mi · 13 h 50 min SINJFK Singapore – New York 15,341 km9,532 mi · 18 h 30 min LAXLAS Los Angeles – Las Vegas 380 km236 mi · 1 h 25 min LAXSEA Los Angeles – Seattle 1,537 km955 mi · 2 h 50 min EWRLAX Newark – Los Angeles 3,941 km2,449 mi · 6 h 05 min LAXAMS Los Angeles – Amsterdam 8,956 km5,565 mi · 10 h 45 min LAXTPE Los Angeles – Taipei 10,922 km6,787 mi · 14 h 40 min LAXSIN Los Angeles – Singapore 14,102 km8,762 mi · 18 h 25 min

Routes of a similar length

SINBOM Singapore – Mumbai 3,922 km2,437 mi · 5 h 35 min PERSIN Perth – Singapore 3,911 km2,430 mi · 5 h 35 min SFOIAD San Francisco – Washington 3,883 km2,413 mi · 5 h JNBADD Johannesburg – Addis Ababa 4,068 km2,528 mi · 5 h 40 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).