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Out of curiosity, my kid was looking at flights from Tel Aviv (TLV) to Honolulu (HNL) and noticed that they all fly west, with stops in the lower 48 (contiguous U.S.). This surprised me:

  • Tel Aviv's longitude is about 35°E and Honolulu's is 158°W, so the flight eastward passes only 167° of longitude.
  • There are places to stop along the way that allow flights in from Israel (e.g., Moscow, I suppose).
  • Flying eastward is faster.

Why do flights from Tel Aviv to Honolulu go west? And if they're going west then why through the lower 48 rather than, say, Anchorage (ANC), which is sorta on the way?

msh210
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  • Can you add an example of such a flight? After a quick search, I cannot find a single flight from TLV to HNL (under the same flight number). – Bianfable Jul 29 '21 at 08:35
  • I didn't check, my kid did, but those were the routings that the airline sites gave: but maybe not under the same flight number. Should I reword the question to ask why airlines route people that way, rather than as why flights go that way? – msh210 Jul 29 '21 at 08:37
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    If it's not a single flight number then the answer just depends on which direct connections exist and that is simply based on passenger demand. There are also connecting flights going east, but they have 2 stops rather than 1 (e.g. via Hong Kong and Tokyo). – Bianfable Jul 29 '21 at 08:43
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    @Bianfable: FlightConnections says it's currently possible to fly TLV–NRT–HNL, but the first leg only operates 3 days a week and the two airlines (El Al & Hawaiian) don't code-share. COVID restrictions may also make this itinerary unfeasible. – Michael Seifert Jul 29 '21 at 15:19
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    Also, if we're talking about connecting flights rather than a single flight, then it's no surprise that they don't use the TLV–ANC–HNL route; it would require there to be a market for a stand-alone TLV–ANC route, which seems unlikely to me. – Michael Seifert Jul 29 '21 at 15:25
  • Hmm, west would be into the prevailing wind, but would have fewer exposure to various airspace sovereignties. – mongo Jul 29 '21 at 15:29
  • Are there actually enough people in Israel who want to go to Hawai'i (or vice versa) to justify a direct flight? Whereas you might have many more people who want to go to places in the US, or from those places onwards. – jamesqf Jul 29 '21 at 16:54
  • Voting to leave open, airline flight routes are subject to economic motives, not to opinion. – Koyovis Jul 30 '21 at 06:20
  • Airline routes are also subject to operational restrictions (ETOPS for example), this is definitely on topic here. – Jpe61 Jul 30 '21 at 09:26
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    ETOPS have nothing to do with this question as many airlines operate Eastbound flights between Tel Aviv and Asia and between Asia and Honolulu. You can fly Eastbound now, but the connection times and code sharing may not be to your liking. – Mike Sowsun Jul 30 '21 at 10:54
  • @MikeSowsun the 2 engine regulation might not apply but the principle of staying near friendly airports would. Going through the lower 48 and EU means there is always an airport nearby at the cost of 3.5 Mm (megameters) more flight instead of the Great Circle route which would be over wilderness for a greater portion of the flight. – ratchet freak Aug 16 '21 at 10:08

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