How Long Is the Flight to China?

Quick answer: the flight to China (Beijing) is about 14 h 5 min in the air from New York and 13 h 16 min from Los Angeles, non-stop; a connection adds its layover. Of the busiest US airports, Seattle is the closest at 11 h 36 min and Miami the farthest at 15 h 59 min. Flying home from Los Angeles is 52 min shorter.

Pick two airports. See the distance, about how long a non-stop flight takes, and what time it will be when you land.

JFK → LHR · non-stop

7 h 11 minAbout 7 h 11 min gate to gate for 3,442 miles (5,540 km). Most scheduled flights of this length: 6 h 56 min to 7 h 26 min.

Distance: 3,442 mi
Lands: pick a date and time

The flight back, westbound into the jet stream, is slower: about 7 h 48 min.
An estimate from the scheduled times of 5,797 US routes (US DOT, 2026-06): half of them are within 7 minutes of it. Your airline’s schedule is the real answer.

Airports from OurAirports, time zones from mwgg/Airports, flight times fitted on US DOT schedules. An estimate for a non-stop: check your airline.

The calculator above opens on New York to Beijing: change either airport to yours, or add a date and a departure time for the local time you land. Below, the flight from each of the busiest US airports.

How long is the flight to China from each US airport?

The FAA’s busiest US airports by passengers in 2024, the quickest first. Times are the estimated gate-to-gate time of a non-stop; the clock change is China’s time minus the airport’s, in January and in July.

From	Distance	To Beijing	Flight back	Clock change (Jan / Jul)
Seattle (SEA)	5,393 mi	11 h 36 min	10 h 53 min	+16 h / +15 h
San Francisco (SFO)	5,899 mi	12 h 37 min	11 h 47 min	+16 h / +15 h
Minneapolis (MSP)	6,282 mi	13 h 12 min	12 h 43 min	+14 h / +13 h
Las Vegas (LAS)	6,233 mi	13 h 14 min	12 h 26 min	+16 h / +15 h
Los Angeles (LAX)	6,237 mi	13 h 16 min	12 h 24 min	+16 h / +15 h
Denver (DEN)	6,333 mi	13 h 22 min	12 h 42 min	+15 h / +14 h
Chicago O’Hare (ORD)	6,563 mi	13 h 42 min	13 h 16 min	+14 h / +13 h
Phoenix (PHX)	6,486 mi	13 h 44 min	12 h 54 min	+15 h / +15 h
Detroit (DTW)	6,616 mi	13 h 46 min	13 h 24 min	+13 h / +12 h
Boston (BOS)	6,721 mi	13 h 52 min	13 h 43 min	+13 h / +12 h
Newark (EWR)	6,816 mi	14 h 4 min	13 h 52 min	+13 h / +12 h
New York JFK (JFK)	6,822 mi	14 h 5 min	13 h 53 min	+13 h / +12 h
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)	6,956 mi	14 h 33 min	13 h 54 min	+14 h / +13 h
Charlotte (CLT)	7,116 mi	14 h 44 min	14 h 22 min	+13 h / +12 h
Atlanta (ATL)	7,170 mi	14 h 52 min	14 h 25 min	+13 h / +12 h
Houston (IAH)	7,181 mi	14 h 59 min	14 h 19 min	+14 h / +13 h
Orlando (MCO)	7,566 mi	15 h 37 min	15 h 11 min	+13 h / +12 h
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)	7,741 mi	15 h 57 min	15 h 32 min	+13 h / +12 h
Miami (MIA)	7,758 mi	15 h 59 min	15 h 33 min	+13 h / +12 h

Every route are longer than any US route the estimate was measured on (4,983 miles), so treat those as a rough guide: the longer the flight, the more the wind moves it. LaGuardia, the 19th busiest, is left out: its flights are short-haul, and New York’s long flights leave from JFK and Newark.

Why the flight home is shorter

From Los Angeles the flight to Beijing is about 13 h 16 min and the flight back 12 h 24 min. The difference is the jet stream, the band of west-to-east wind at cruising height: flying east you ride it, flying west you fly into it. The estimate carries that as a single measured effect of how far east a route goes, which is why the two directions of the same route differ.

What the clock says when you land

China is 13 hours ahead of New York in January and 12 hours ahead of New York in July, when US clocks are on summer time; 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles in January and 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles in July. Leave Los Angeles at noon on Wednesday, July 15, and a non-stop would land in Beijing at about 4:16 p.m. the next day, Thursday, local time.

Flying into another airport

This page measures to Beijing (PEK). To Shanghai (PVG) it is about 15 h 15 min from New York and 13 h 49 min from Los Angeles.

Is there a non-stop?

Which US airports fly to China non-stop changes with the airlines’ schedules, so this page does not list them: Which US cities have direct flights to China? does. For any pair of airports, the calculator above gives the distance and the time.

Plan it

Where should I go in China for the first time?

FAQ

How long is the flight to China?

About 14 h 5 min non-stop from New York and 13 h 16 min from Los Angeles. Of the busiest US airports, Seattle is the closest at 11 h 36 min and Miami the farthest at 15 h 59 min. All are estimates of a non-stop; a connection adds its layover.

How long is the flight to China from New York?

About 14 h 5 min from JFK and 14 h 4 min from Newark, for 6,822 miles to Beijing. The flight back to New York is 12 min shorter: about 13 h 53 min.

How long is the flight to China from Los Angeles?

About 13 h 16 min from LAX, and 12 h 37 min from San Francisco, for 6,237 miles. The flight back is 52 min shorter: about 12 h 24 min.

What is the time difference between China and the US?

Is there a direct flight to China?

From some US cities, yes — which ones changes with the airlines’ schedules, so this page does not list them. Our post Which US cities have direct flights to China? does, and your airline’s schedule is the final word.

How these times are made

Distances are great circles between the airports (OurAirports). Times come from one line fitted to the median scheduled gate-to-gate time of 5,797 US routes (US DOT, 2026-06): a fixed allowance, a time per mile, and a correction for how far east the route goes. Half of those routes are within 7 minutes of it. The busiest airports are the FAA’s 2024 passenger boardings. Your airline’s schedule is the real answer: winds, routings and the season move it by a few minutes on a short flight and by more on a long one.