How long would that journey take?
The same distance takes wildly different times depending on how you cross it. Here are the honest comparisons.
1.07 × London to New York by air
8 h is longer than 4 of the 7 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| London to Paris by air | 1.25 h | 6.4× | 1 h 15 m |
| London to Paris by train | 2.25 h | 3.56× | 2 h 15 m |
| London to Paris by car | 6 h | 1.33× | About 6 hours with the tunnel |
| London to New York by air | 7.5 h | 1.07× | |
| Earth to the Moon by Apollo | 72 h | 0.111× | Three days |
| London to New York by ship | 168 h | 1/21 | Seven days on a liner |
| Earth to Mars by spacecraft | 5,040 h | 1/630 | About seven months |
Worth knowing
- Apollo took three days to reach the Moon. A commercial airliner would take about 17 days if it could fly there.
- A Mars transfer takes six to nine months and can only launch in a three-week window every 26 months.
Frequently asked
How long does it take to get to Mars?
About seven months on a Hohmann transfer, the fuel-efficient route. Faster trajectories exist but cost far more propellant.
Why is the train competitive with flying to Paris?
Because the flight time excludes two hours of airport. City centre to city centre, the train wins under about 800 km.