JetSetAuthority

Route · Trans-Pacific

LAX Los Angeles ⇄ PPT Papeete (Tahiti)

Los Angeles International Airport (United States) and Fa'a'ā International Airport (French Polynesia): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance6,611 km4,108 mi3,570 nautical miles
LAX → PPT8 h 40 minestimated block time
PPT → LAX8 h 25 minestimated block time
Clock change−3 hPapeete (Tahiti) vs Los Angeles, today
Great-circle route from Los Angeles (LAX) to Papeete (Tahiti) (PPT)LAXLos AngelesPPTPapeete (Tahiti)
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 → PPT

8 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 215° (SW).

Leave Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Papeete (Tahiti) Sat 7 Nov, 16:40 local.

PPT → LAX

8 h 25 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 30° (NNE).

Leave Papeete (Tahiti) Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Los Angeles Sat 7 Nov, 20:25 local.

PPT-bound flights are the slower direction by about 15 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 distance6,611 km · 4,108 mi · 3,570 nmi
Initial heading215° (SW) from LAX; 30° (NNE) from PPT
Farthest from the equator33.9°N
Crossesthe equator
Share of the longest possible trip33% 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
PPTPacific/Tahiti — UTC−10 now; UTC−10 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferencePapeete (Tahiti) is 3 hours behind Los Angeles today; −2 h in January and −3 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying LAX → PPT. 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

LAX Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles, United States · longest runway 12,894 ft3,930 m PPT Fa'a'ā International AirportPapeete (Tahiti), French Polynesia · longest runway 11,360 ft3,463 m

More routes from LAX and PPT

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 AKLPPT Auckland – Papeete (Tahiti) 4,094 km2,544 mi · 5 h 25 min

Routes of a similar length

SYDKUL Sydney – Kuala Lumpur 6,585 km4,092 mi · 8 h 50 min MIAGRU Miami – São Paulo 6,574 km4,085 mi · 8 h 25 min CDGDEL Paris – Delhi 6,565 km4,080 mi · 7 h 55 min MIASCL Miami – Santiago 6,658 km4,137 mi · 8 h 35 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).