JetSetAuthority

Route · Trans-Pacific

LAX Los Angeles ⇄ AKL Auckland

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

Distance10,487 km6,516 mi5,663 nautical miles
LAX → AKL13 h 20 minestimated block time
AKL → LAX12 h 35 minestimated block time
Clock change+20 hAuckland vs Los Angeles, today
Great-circle route from Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL)LAXLos AngelesAKLAuckland
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

LAX → AKL

13 h 20 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 227° (SW).

Leave Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Auckland Sun 8 Nov, 20:20 local +1 day.

AKL → LAX

12 h 35 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 50° (NE).

Leave Auckland Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 01:35 local.

AKL-bound flights are the slower direction by about 45 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 distance10,487 km · 6,516 mi · 5,663 nmi
Initial heading227° (SW) from LAX; 50° (NE) from AKL
Farthest from the equator37.0°S
Crossesthe equator and the 180th meridian (International Date Line area)
Share of the longest possible trip52% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

LAXAmerica/Los_Angeles — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
AKLPacific/Auckland — UTC+13 now; UTC+12 standard time, UTC+13 during daylight saving time
DifferenceAuckland is 20 hours ahead of Los Angeles today; +21 h in January and +19 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying LAX → AKL. The clock change is 20 hours, but to your body that is a shift of 4 hours the other way. Your body clock has to move 4 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 4 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

More routes from LAX and AKL

Routes of a similar length

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).