How flight arrival times work
Departure and arrival times on tickets, boarding passes and airline apps are always shown in the local time of each airport. So yes, the arrival time already accounts for the time change. A 6-hour flight leaving New York at 8:00 AM lands in Los Angeles at 11:15 AM Pacific time (6 h 15 min of flying, minus the 3-hour difference).
US time zones at a glance
| Time zone | Example cities | Compared with New York |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern (ET) | New York, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit | — |
| Central (CT) | Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans | 1 hour behind |
| Mountain (MT) | Denver, Salt Lake City (Phoenix: no DST) | 2 hours behind |
| Pacific (PT) | Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas | 3 hours behind |
| Alaska (AKT) | Anchorage | 4 hours behind |
| Hawaii (HST) | Honolulu (no DST) | 5 hours behind (6 in summer) |
Typical nonstop flight times from the US
| Route | Typical flight time |
|---|---|
| New York → Los Angeles | 6 h – 6 h 30 min |
| Los Angeles → New York | 5 h – 5 h 30 min (tailwind) |
| Chicago → Orlando | 2 h 45 min |
| Dallas → Denver | 2 h |
| Los Angeles → Honolulu | 5 h 45 min |
| New York → London | 7 h |
| London → New York | 8 h |
| Atlanta → Cancun | 2 h 15 min |
Red-eye flights and crossing midnight
A red-eye leaves late at night and lands early the next morning, usually on west-to-east routes such as Los Angeles to New York. The calculator shows +1 day when you land on the next calendar day. Long flights to Asia or Australia can even land two days later on the calendar, and flights from Asia to the US can land “before” they left.
Leaving soon? Check when to leave for the airport and the busiest travel days.
Flight Arrival Time Calculator FAQs
Are flight arrival times in local time?
Yes. Airlines always list departure in the departure airport’s local time and arrival in the arrival airport’s local time.
Do flight times change with daylight saving time?
The clock times on your ticket stay as booked, but the time difference between cities can change when one place switches to or from daylight saving and the other doesn’t (for example Arizona, Hawaii, or Europe changing on different dates from the US).
How long is a flight from New York to Los Angeles?
About 6 to 6½ hours westbound and 5 to 5½ hours eastbound, because of the jet stream.
What does +1 mean on a flight?
It means you arrive on the next calendar day in local time, which is common on red-eyes and international flights.