How long does it really take to fly from Washington to Flint? Here's a sample itinerary for a commercial flight plan. If you want to know the total travel time to reach Flint, 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, 8:00 am: start in Washington
drive for about 1.5 hours
most airlines recommend you get to the airport at least 90 minutes before your flight, so arrive by 10:40 am at the latest
9:45 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 11:10 am
10:15 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
11:15 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
11:45 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
12:00 pm: board Alaska Airlines Inc. flight
you can scroll down to view other airlines that fly this route
12:10 pm: this is your scheduled departure time
but this flight is usually delayed by an average of 4 minutes
12:14 pm: so this is your actual departure time
it takes the plane an average of 24 minutes to taxi to the runway
12:38 pm: wheels up! take-off from SEA
fly for about 3.5 hours in the air
6:01 pm (local time): Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
Chicago, IL is 2 hours ahead of Seattle, WA
so the time in Washington is actually 4:01 pm
land at the connecting airport
taxi on the runway for an average of 17 minutes to the gate
6:18 pm (local time): arrive at the connecting airport
make sure you schedule enough time for your layover
there may be a minimum connection time for your flight
6:50 pm (local time): get to your connection gate
with the average delay, you have about 32 minutes
if your incoming flight was delayed, you may need to run
7:05 pm (local time): board ExpressJet Airlines Inc. connecting flight
you can scroll down to view other airlines that fly this route
7:15 pm (local time): scheduled departure time for connecting flight
but this flight is usually delayed by an average of 20 minutes
7:35 pm (local time): actual departure time for connecting flight
it takes the plane an average of 19 minutes to taxi to the runway
7:54 pm (local time): wheels up again! take-off from MSP
fly for about 37 minutes in the air
9:31 pm (local time): Bishop International (FNT)
Flint is 1 hour ahead of Chicago, IL
and 3 hours ahead of Washington
so the time in Washington is actually 6:31 pm
taxi on the runway for an average of 5 minutes to the gate
9:36 pm (local time): arrive at the gate at FNT
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 13 minutes to your destination
9:49 pm (local time): arrive in Flint
Total travel time: 11 hours
How far is Flint from Washington? Here's the quick answer if you have a private jet and you can fly in the fastest possible straight line.
Flight distance: 1,855 miles or 2986 km
Flight time: 4 hours, 13 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 10 hours, 49 minutes.
Flying private is roughly 2.7x 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 ORD, and connecting flights on ExpressJet Airlines Inc. from ORD to FNT, 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 ORD, then connecting to FNT, 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 ExpressJet 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 Flint, Michigan. Start by reading the Trippy page on where to stay in Flint. Click the button below to explore Flint 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 Flint to Washington, 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 Washington to Flint road trip. Or if you're more interested in the distance, How far is it from Washington to Flint?
If you happen to know Washington, don't forget to help other travelers and answer some questions about Washington!
