JetSetAuthority

Route · United States and Canada

JFK New York ⇄ SEA Seattle

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

Distance3,887 km2,415 mi2,099 nautical miles
JFK → SEA5 h 55 minestimated block time
SEA → JFK5 h 05 minestimated block time
Clock change−3 hSeattle vs New York, today
Great-circle route from New York (JFK) to Seattle (SEA)JFKNew YorkSEASeattle
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 → SEA

5 h 55 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 298° (WNW).

Leave New York Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Seattle Sat 7 Nov, 12:55 local.

SEA → JFK

5 h 05 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 83° (E).

Leave Seattle Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive New York Sat 7 Nov, 18:05 local.

SEA-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 distance3,887 km · 2,415 mi · 2,099 nmi
Initial heading298° (WNW) from JFK; 83° (E) from SEA
Farthest from the equator47.8°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip19% 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
SEAAmerica/Los_Angeles — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
DifferenceSeattle is 3 hours behind New York today.

Jet lag, flying JFK → SEA. 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 SEA Seattle–Tacoma International AirportSeattle, United States · longest runway 11,901 ft3,627 m

More routes from JFK and SEA

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 SFOSEA San Francisco – Seattle 1,093 km679 mi · 2 h 20 min SEADEN Seattle – Denver 1,645 km1,022 mi · 2 h 45 min SEAORD Seattle – Chicago 2,762 km1,716 mi · 3 h 55 min SEALHR Seattle – London 7,702 km4,786 mi · 9 h 25 min SEAAMS Seattle – Amsterdam 7,840 km4,872 mi · 9 h 40 min SINSEA Singapore – Seattle 12,979 km8,065 mi · 15 h

Routes of a similar length

SFOIAD San Francisco – Washington 3,883 km2,413 mi · 5 h BOSKEF Boston – Reykjavík 3,875 km2,408 mi · 5 h 15 min PERSIN Perth – Singapore 3,911 km2,430 mi · 5 h 35 min SFOHNL San Francisco – Honolulu 3,857 km2,397 mi · 5 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).