Great-circle route JFK ↔ SFO. Faint dots are other airports, for geographic context. Download this map — free to reuse with a link back to this page.
Frequencies below are per direction, from our most recent schedule sample. The two directions are not identical — that is normal on scheduled routes.
| Direction | Frequency | Days | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| JFK → SFO New York to San Francisco |
140/wk | Daily | Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways |
| SFO → JFK San Francisco to New York |
136/wk | Daily | Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways |
Where a direction shows “—” we track it as an operating nonstop but hold no schedule sample for it — we would rather show nothing than guess.
In 2025, airlines reported 1,888,413 passengers on 13,221 flights between JFK and SFO — about 5,177 a day — filling 88% of the 2,156,143 seats flown. Delta Air Lines Inc. carried the most passengers (41%).
Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports — actual airline-reported traffic, scheduled service only, both directions combined. Cargo and charter flights excluded.
4 airlines fly the JFK–SFO nonstop, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways.
Recent scheduled departures on this route have used the Airbus A320, Boeing 767-300, Airbus A321, Boeing 737-900 and 1 other types.
Aircraft assignments change by season and by time of day.
On a long east–west route like this one the two directions do not take the same time. Aircraft flying eastbound ride the mid-latitude jet stream and typically arrive earlier than the westbound leg, which flies into it. The difference is commonly 30 to 90 minutes on transatlantic and transpacific flights, and it varies by season. The estimate above does not model wind — treat it as a midpoint and check the airline's own timetable for the block time on your date.
The distance between John F Kennedy International Airport and San Francisco International Airport is 2,580 miles, or 4,152 kilometres.
| Great-circle distance | 2,580 mi |
| Kilometres | 4,152 km |
| Nautical miles | 2,242 nmi |
Measured airport to airport. The actual track is longer — aircraft follow airways, avoid restricted airspace and route around weather.
Yes. 4 airlines fly the route nonstop, with about 276 departures a week across both directions. The route is in our live nonstop dataset, last seeded 2026-07-07.
About 5h 33m in the air. That is a great-circle estimate from the 2,580-mile distance, not a scheduled block time — an airline's published time will differ by roughly 15 to 45 minutes depending on routing, winds and taxi.
About 140 a week from New York to San Francisco and 136 a week from San Francisco to New York, from our most recent schedule sample.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways.
In 2025, airlines reported 1,888,413 passengers on 13,221 scheduled flights between JFK and SFO — about 5,177 a day — filling 88% of the seats flown. Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports, both directions combined.
Recent scheduled departures have used the Airbus A320, Boeing 767-300, Airbus A321, Boeing 737-900. Assignments change by season and by time of day.
