How long does it really take to fly from Seattle to Indianapolis? Here's a sample itinerary for a commercial flight plan. If you want to know the total travel time to reach Indianapolis, you need to include time at the airports. Eventually, you'll be able to customize this itinerary to select other nearby airports and choose your preferred airline.
Thursday, 3:27 am: start in Seattle
drive for about 33 minutes
most airlines recommend you get to the airport at least 90 minutes before your flight, so arrive by 4:55 am at the latest
4:00 am: Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
if you need to check luggage, make sure you do it at least 30-60 minutes before departure, or in this case, by 5:25 am
4:30 am: get your boarding pass and go through TSA security
allow enough time for long security lines during busy travel seasons or holidays, and prepare for the wait time
5:30 am: arrive at the gate
once you're ready to board, you can get something to eat in the airport or just relax near the gate
6:00 am: prepare for boarding
check your boarding pass for your group number or listen to the gate agent as they announce boarding, some airlines require you to be in the boarding area 10-15 minutes before departure or risk losing your seat
6:15 am: board Alaska Airlines Inc. flight
you can scroll down to view other airlines that fly this route
6:25 am: this is your scheduled departure time
but this flight is usually delayed by an average of 2 minutes
6:27 am: so this is your actual departure time
it takes the plane an average of 20 minutes to taxi to the runway
6:47 am: wheels up! take-off from SEA
fly for about 2 hours in the air
8:58 am: Los Angeles International (LAX)
Los Angeles, CA is the same time as Seattle, WA
land at the connecting airport
taxi on the runway for an average of 24 minutes to the gate
9:22 am: arrive at the connecting airport
make sure you schedule enough time for your layover
there may be a minimum connection time for your flight
9:35 am: get to your connection gate
with the average delay, you have about 13 minutes
if your incoming flight was delayed, you may need to run
9:50 am: board American Airlines Inc. connecting flight
you can scroll down to view other airlines that fly this route
10:00 am: scheduled departure time for connecting flight
but this flight is usually delayed by an average of 11 minutes
10:11 am: actual departure time for connecting flight
it takes the plane an average of 26 minutes to taxi to the runway
10:37 am: wheels up again! take-off from
fly for about 3.5 hours in the air
5:07 pm (local time): Indianapolis International (IND)
Indianapolis is 3 hours ahead of Seattle
so the time in Seattle is actually 2:07 pm
taxi on the runway for an average of 7 minutes to the gate
5:14 pm (local time): arrive at the gate at IND
deboard the plane, and claim any baggage
if you're renting a car, check if you need to take a shuttle to car rental agency, otherwise you can ride in a cab, limo, or Uber for about 24 minutes to your destination
5:39 pm (local time): arrive in Indianapolis
Total travel time: 11 hours
How far is Indianapolis from Seattle? Here's the quick answer if you have a private jet and you can fly in the fastest possible straight line.
Flight distance: 1,872 miles or 3013 km
Flight time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Compare this to a whole day of commercial travel with the airports and waiting in line for security, which ends up taking a total of 11 hours, 11 minutes.
Flying private is roughly 2.8x faster, and saves you about 7 hours in your total travel time.
Because of the curvature of the Earth, the shortest distance is actually the "great circle" distance, or "as the crow flies" which is calculated using an iterative Vincenty formula. For a long distance, this appears as a curve on the map, and this is often the route that commercial airlines will take so it's a good estimate of the frequent flyer miles you'll accumulate as well.
This is a medium length flight, so unless you have a nice private jet, you might be booking a commercial flight. In that case, your travel time would really need to include how many minutes to get to your local airport, wait for security, board and taxi on the runway, land at the other airport, and get to your destination. The flight itinerary at the top of the page takes into account all these factors to get a more accurate estimate of your actual flight time.
Looking at flights on Alaska Airlines Inc. from SEA to LAX, and connecting flights on American Airlines Inc. from LAX to IND, here's a breakdown of the number of flights available each day:
Based on these statistical results, we chose Thursday for the flight itinerary above.
The most common route is SEA to LAX, then connecting to IND, so that's what we used in the sample itinerary. However, you may want to explore travel alternatives, you could try one of these routes:
We picked Alaska Airlines Inc. for your main flight, and American Airlines Inc. for your connecting flight, but there are other airlines that you should check if you're looking for the cheapest flight, or you need a different schedule. Check the websites of these airlines:
Trippy has a ton of information that can help you plan your trip to Indianapolis, Indiana. Start by reading the Trippy page on where to stay in Indianapolis. Trippy members can suggest things to do in Indianapolis like Indianapolis Museum of Art. Check out some of the questions people have asked about Indianapolis like What is your favorite restaurant in Indianapolis? Click the button below to explore Indianapolis in detail.
The distance is the same either way if you're flying a straight line. But for a real trip, there can be plenty of differences so go ahead and check the reverse flight itinerary to fly from Indianapolis to Seattle, or go to the main page to calculate other flight times.
You can also compare the travel time if you were to drive instead. Get the full itinerary for a Seattle to Indianapolis road trip. Or if you're more interested in the distance, How far is it from Seattle to Indianapolis?
If you happen to know Seattle, don't forget to help other travelers and answer some questions about Seattle!