Why do planes fly east to Australia instead of west?

Would it not be quicker to fly out of JFK in New York and fly west to Australia - Obviously the world is round so surely it must be quicker than going all the way over all the countries flying East to get to Australia.

Most flights to Oz go through either California or Asia. If you went east, you'd have to go to EUROPE first before flying to Asia, then on to Australia. California is closer to NY than Europe.

In theory, you could get a NY-Asia flight but those are usually pricey and then you probably would have to connect in Asia as well. You could try going through Japan.

You could also skip CA and go through Hawaii, if that exists, probably the quickest way.

Its an economic decision, not a matter of simple choice. Jet-stream factor saves fuel and allows for faster transit times. Add in east to west rotation as a factor and that too saves time and fuel. Report It

My thought would be that flying east is the shorter route to Australia, similar to flying over the north polar region to reach certain European countries.

when you fly east you fly with the jet stream

But you can go Eastbound.

Both Air New Zealand and QANTAS offer it. Usually via Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Ian M

If you check airline schedules, you will find that most flights do travel west over the Pacific. You can go east over the Atlantic, but it takes much longer and it is more expensive.

I am not aware of any flights that go eastbound to Australia.