NZ5 distance and great-circle path
NZ5 covers 10,487 km, or 6,516 miles. That makes it an ultra-long-haul flight, near the limit of what most twinjets can fly non-stop. Of the 439 routes we track, it ranks 64 by distance.
The plane leaves Auckland heading north-east. On the map above, the line looks curved. That is normal. The shortest path over a round planet never looks straight on a flat screen. Our guide explains how the AKL-LAX route appears on a tracker map.
Why NZ5 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 12.2 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 856 km/h. A Boeing 787-9 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.
Flying east, this route usually picks up tailwinds high up. The flight back west normally takes longer, even though the distance is identical. See how timing changes the trip in our red-eye flight guide.
Can the Boeing 787-9 comfortably fly NZ5?
Not really. It uses about 75% of the Boeing 787-9's range. That leaves room for a full load of passengers and bags. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Boeing 787-9.
What to know about NZ5
- Time change: you land 20 hours behind the time you left. That is enough to cause jet lag. Here is how pilots handle it.
- Crosses the equator: you swap seasons between takeoff and landing.
- Crosses the date line: the calendar date changes while you are in the air.