Los Angeles to New York: what the LAX to JFK corridor looks like
- Departure
- Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, the United States
- Arrival
- John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, the United States
- Great-circle distance
- 3,974 km (2,146 nm)
- Typical airborne time
- 5h 07m
- Usual cruise levels
- FL330 to FL390
- Initial track
- northeast bound
Route overview
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, the United States, to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, the United States, is a great-circle distance of 3,974 km, about 2,146 nautical miles. At typical jet cruise speeds, and with an allowance for climb, descent and approach, that works out to roughly 5h 07m of airborne time. The great-circle track leaves Los Angeles northeast bound and spends most of the flight in subtropical air.
Leaving Los Angeles
Los Angeles International sits on the Pacific shoreline with the San Gabriel Mountains inland. Departures climb over water into the marine layer, and Santa Ana conditions in autumn add downslope wind from the ranges. The great-circle track leaves LAX northeast bound, and the first waypoint band of the flight sits close to 35.6N 107.3W. On a sector of 5h 07m, the climb to cruise takes roughly the first twenty to twenty five minutes.
Mountain wave over the Rockies
The midpoint of the LAX to JFK track lies near 37.3N 96.1W, about 1,987 km from Los Angeles, which is where the corridor spends its longest continuous stretch at cruise level. The track crosses the Rocky Mountains, where westerly wind lifted over the ridge line oscillates downwind and produces mountain wave turbulence at cruise level. On windy days that gives a defined bumpy segment of roughly twenty to thirty minutes, with settled air before and after it.
Cruise altitudes on this sector
Medium haul sectors typically level off between FL330 and FL390, with a single step climb once fuel burn has lightened the aircraft. Choice of level matters because turbulence is layered: a change of two or three thousand feet often puts the aircraft into calmer air, and that is one of the first adjustments a crew will request.
Arriving into New York
Arrivals into JFK are flown through one of the busiest terminal areas in the world, with level segments and frequent vectors. Sea air meeting land air along the Long Island coast is the common source of light chop on descent. Descent normally begins around 39.0N 84.9W, roughly 994 km before JFK, and takes about half an hour from cruise level to touchdown.
Seasonal pattern
Mountain wave activity follows the strength of the winter westerlies, so the most defined wave segments occur between November and March, and mid summer crossings are typically calm.
Flying this route with less worry
Turbulence on this corridor is a comfort issue rather than a safety one. Airliners are certified to handle loads well beyond anything the atmosphere produces here, crews are trained for it, and the seat belt sign is the tool that keeps the cabin settled. What this page adds is knowing in advance: the map and Calmness Score above use current WAFS forecast data for LAX to JFK, so you can see what to expect before you board.