The Pacific Ocean, covering a substantial portion of the Earth's surface, has long been a topic of fascination and wonder.

As humans have continuously strived for more excellent connectivity and convenience in air travel, the question arises as to why aeroplanes seemingly avoid flying over the Pacific Ocean.

For example, if flying from Los Angeles to Tokyo, passengers would see Alaska and Sakhalin Island from the aeroplane window. Why not just fly over the oceans?

The reason lies in the discrepancy between the map and the actual Earth's surface.

Our Earth is a sphere; plotting it on a map requires each point to be projected onto a flat surface.

To simplify mapping, we sacrifice the accuracy of distance. We "stretch" the map in the north-south direction and "compress" it at the equator.

A centimetre on a map corresponds to fewer kilometres in the northern hemisphere near the equator than at the equator.

On a map, this difference is not apparent. But over the Earth, the difference becomes tens or even hundreds of kilometres.

The more "north" or "south" an aeroplane is, its range is shorter. This is because it does not need to go around the Earth's curved surface, which is not visible on a map.

On the map, flying from Los Angeles to Tokyo via Alaska and Sakhalin looks like a long detour. But in reality, the route is the shortest!

The vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean between Asia and the Americas creates a substantial hurdle for airlines and poses challenges in terms of fuel consumption and flight duration.

Non-stop flights across the Pacific are generally limited to specific long-haul routes and largely depend on the demand for specific destinations.

There is also the effect of rapids. Jet streams are high-altitude air currents travelling west to east or vice versa.

These powerful air currents, particularly prevalent in the middle latitudes of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, significantly affect flight routes and durations. Airlines often leverage favourable tailwinds offered by jet streams to economise on time and fuel.

More robust and reliable jet streams over the North Pacific make transpacific flights in an eastward direction more feasible than those heading westward.

The crew fully supports this route. Not only is it a shorter route, but it is safer.

In an accident in the Pacific Ocean, an aeroplane landing in the Pacific Ocean would sink and have to wait a long time for help.

Therefore, an aeroplane's "northward" route may look strange on a map, but it is the shortest and safest route!