AirportMiles

New York (JFK) – San Francisco (SFO)

Flights on GoogleSkyscanner
Distance, flight time and the airlines that fly it, from open data.
Distance
4,162 km
2,586 mi · 2,247 nm
Flight time
6 h 29 min / 5 h 29 min
Average gate to gate: JFK → SFO / back
Time difference
3 h
CO2 per passenger
486 kg
One way, economy, incl. RF (288 kg CO2 only)
Passengers / year
1,910,892
Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +4.0%
Flights / week
253
Both directions, average
Seats filled
89%
2,153,583 seats a year
Airlines nonstop
4
DL, B6, AS

Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources

Great circle from JFK to SFOJFKSFO
Shortest path over the earth's surface (great circle). Real flights bend around weather, winds and airspace.

The way there

Heading from JFK
282°
Heading from SFO
70°
Halfway point
41.76, -98.63
Great-circle km
4,152 km (sphere, for EU261)
In the air JFK → SFO
5 h 50 min
In the air SFO → JFK
4 h 57 min
Clocks
San Francisco is 3 h behind New York

The estimate for a route without real times is 5 h 40 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.

Passengers per month, both directions (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026)Busiest: June 2026: 179,319 passengers
0100K200KAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun179.3KJul
Show as a table
Month Passengers
Aug 2025170,306
Sep 2025166,489
Oct 2025174,854
Nov 2025159,176
Dec 2025156,151
Jan 2026136,338
Feb 2026116,458
Mar 2026152,174
Apr 2026156,540
May 2026174,630
Jun 2026179,319
Jul 2026168,457
Flights per month, both directions (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026)Busiest: October 2025: 1,208 flights
05001K1.5KAugSepOct1.2KNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul
Show as a table
Month Flights
Aug 20251,171
Sep 20251,148
Oct 20251,208
Nov 20251,079
Dec 20251,044
Jan 20261,016
Feb 2026856
Mar 20261,055
Apr 20261,082
May 20261,176
Jun 20261,202
Jul 20261,138

Airlines flying JFK–SFO nonstop

Airline Flights / week Share of passengers
DLDelta Air Lines84
40%
B6JetBlue Airways73
28%
ASAlaska Airlines42
18%
AAAmerican Airlines55
14%

Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources

Aircraft on this route

  • Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 5,762 flights
  • Boeing 767-300/300ER · 2,915 flights
  • Boeing 757-200 · 1,226 flights
  • Boeing 737-900ER · 952 flights
  • Boeing B737 Max 900 · 923 flights
  • Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 891 flights
  • Boeing 737-800 · 250 flights
  • Airbus Industrie A330-200 · 135 flights

Also carried: 5,197 tonnes of freight and 18 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).

Punctuality

On time
76.6%
Arrived within 15 min of schedule
Average delay
18 min
Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
Cancelled
2.2%
Flights counted
13,539
Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Airline On time Average delay
DLDelta Air Lines74.6%18 min
B6JetBlue Airways77.8%18 min
AAAmerican Airlines78.6%20 min
ASAlaska Airlines75.8%16 min

Delay minutes by cause: airline 33% · aircraft arriving late 30% · air traffic system 34% · weather 3% · security 0%.

Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources

What passengers paid

Average fare, Q1 2026
$495
One way, all cabins
Average over a year
$464
Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
Largest airline
Delta Air Lines
44% of passengers · $602
Lowest-fare airline
Alaska Airlines
16% of passengers · $298

History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $440 · Q3 2025 $432 · Q4 2025 $495 · Q1 2026 $495).

U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources

Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)

Measured by great-circle distance: 4,152 km.

Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).

Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.

Every airport pair between New York and San Francisco

SFO
JFK4,162
EWR4,128
LGA4,151

Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All New York airports

More routes from JFK

Route Distance Passengers / year
JFK → LAX3,983 km 3,020,062
JFK → LHR5,555 km 2,984,474
JFK → CDG5,850 km 1,852,909
JFK → MCO1,519 km 1,430,021
JFK → MIA1,753 km 1,326,964
JFK → ATL1,223 km 1,253,545
JFK → SJU2,571 km 1,142,506
JFK → FCO6,884 km 1,141,515
JFK → LAS3,618 km 1,102,051
JFK → FLL1,720 km 1,077,715

More routes from SFO

Route Distance Passengers / year
SFO → LAX543 km 2,842,388
SFO → ORD2,971 km 1,976,484
SFO → EWR4,128 km 1,752,123
SFO → DEN1,556 km 1,743,354
SFO → LAS666 km 1,684,053
SFO → SEA1,092 km 1,628,228
SFO → SAN719 km 1,602,478
SFO → BOS4,352 km 1,386,355
SFO → DFW2,357 km 1,313,229
SFO → TPE10,410 km 1,254,104

Questions

New York (JFK) and San Francisco (SFO) are 4,162 km (2,586 miles, 2,247 nautical miles) apart, measured along the shortest path over the earth's surface.