Flight Distance & Duration Calculator

Great Circle Distance Aircraft fly along great circle routes — the shortest path between two points on a sphere. A great circle is any circle whose center coincides with the center of the Earth (like the equator or any longitude line). Flying along a great circle is not the same as flying in a straight line on a flat map — the shortest path curves toward the poles. That is why trans-Pacific flights from the US West Coast to Japan fly over Alaska rather than going due west.

The Haversine Formula The haversine formula calculates great circle distance from latitude and longitude: a = sin²(Δlat/2) + cos(lat1) × cos(lat2) × sin²(Δlon/2) c = 2 × atan2(√a, √(1−a)) d = R × c Where R = Earth’s mean radius = 6,371 km (3,959 miles). Δlat and Δlon are differences in radians. The haversine formula is accurate for distances up to thousands of kilometers and is numerically stable even for very short distances.

Flight Duration Calculation Commercial airliners cruise at 850–900 km/h (520–560 mph) at altitudes of 10,000–12,000 meters. Flight time = Great circle distance / Average cruise speed. This is block time distance — actual flight time also includes taxi, takeoff, approach, and landing. Short flights (<2 hours): add ~30 minutes for ground operations. Long-haul flights (>8 hours): add ~45–60 minutes total for ground operations. Headwinds and tailwinds can change actual flight time significantly — jet streams at altitude can be 150–300 km/h.

Practical Examples of Great Circle Routes London to New York: 5,570 km (3,460 miles) — flies over the North Atlantic, typically 7–8 hours westbound. Los Angeles to Sydney: 12,074 km (7,503 miles) — about 15–16 hours, one of the world’s longest routes. Dubai to New York (Emirates EK201): 11,015 km (6,845 miles) — approximately 14 hours eastbound. Singapore to Newark (Singapore Airlines SQ22): 15,349 km (9,537 miles) — the world’s longest non-stop flight as of 2023, about 18–19 hours.

Fuel and Emissions A typical Boeing 737 burns approximately 2,500–3,000 liters of jet fuel per hour. A Boeing 777 burns 6,000–8,000 liters per hour at cruise. Short-haul flights are less fuel-efficient per km because takeoff and climb consume disproportionate fuel. Carbon footprint: a typical economy seat on a transatlantic flight emits approximately 0.15–0.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per passenger. Many airlines and websites offer carbon offset programs for business and economy class.

The Flat Earth Misconception On a Mercator map projection, great circle routes appear to curve. This is because Mercator preserves shape but not distance. The route appears curved simply because the map distorts distances at high latitudes. In reality, the path is the straightest possible line on a spherical Earth.