JetSetAuthority

Route · United States and Canada

SEA Seattle ⇄ HNL Honolulu

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

Distance4,308 km2,677 mi2,326 nautical miles
SEA → HNL6 h 20 minestimated block time
HNL → SEA5 h 40 minestimated block time
Clock change−3 hHonolulu vs Seattle, today
Great-circle route from Seattle (SEA) to Honolulu (HNL)SEASeattleHNLHonolulu
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

SEA → HNL

6 h 20 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 240° (WSW).

Leave Seattle Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Honolulu Sat 7 Nov, 14:20 local.

HNL → SEA

5 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 39° (NE).

Leave Honolulu Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Seattle Sat 7 Nov, 17:40 local.

HNL-bound flights are the slower direction by about 40 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 distance4,308 km · 2,677 mi · 2,326 nmi
Initial heading240° (WSW) from SEA; 39° (NE) from HNL
Farthest from the equator47.4°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip22% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

SEAAmerica/Los_Angeles — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
HNLPacific/Honolulu — UTC−10 now; UTC−10 all year (no daylight saving time)
DifferenceHonolulu is 3 hours behind Seattle 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 SEA → HNL. 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

SEA Seattle–Tacoma International AirportSeattle, United States · longest runway 11,901 ft3,627 m HNL Daniel K. Inouye International AirportHonolulu, United States · longest runway 12,360 ft3,767 m

More routes from SEA and HNL

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 HNLOGG Honolulu – Maui (Kahului) 162 km101 mi · 1 h 15 min LAXHNL Los Angeles – Honolulu 4,108 km2,553 mi · 6 h 05 min HNLANC Honolulu – Anchorage 4,475 km2,781 mi · 6 h 05 min HNLHND Honolulu – Tokyo 6,191 km3,847 mi · 8 h 45 min HNLICN Honolulu – Seoul 7,353 km4,569 mi · 10 h 15 min HNLSYD Honolulu – Sydney 8,170 km5,077 mi · 10 h 35 min

Routes of a similar length

SFOBOS San Francisco – Boston 4,341 km2,697 mi · 5 h 30 min MELDPS Melbourne – Bali (Denpasar) 4,381 km2,722 mi · 6 h 15 min MIALIM Miami – Lima 4,219 km2,622 mi · 5 h 50 min LAXBOS Los Angeles – Boston 4,193 km2,605 mi · 5 h 20 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).