Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and San Jose, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LOU to SJC:
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- About this route
- LOU Airport Information
- SJC Airport Information
- Facts about LOU
- Facts about SJC
- Map of Nearest Airports to LOU
- List of Nearest Airports to LOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LOU
- List of Furthest Airports from LOU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SJC
- List of Nearest Airports to SJC
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- List of Furthest Airports from SJC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,968 miles (or 3,167 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Bowman Field and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LOU / KLOU |
Airport Name: | Bowman Field |
Location: | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°13'41"N by 85°39'48"W |
Area Served: | Louisville, Kentucky |
Operator/Owner: | Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 546 feet (166 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LOU |
More Information: | LOU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SJC / KSJC |
Airport Name: | Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport |
Location: | San Jose, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°21'46"N by 121°55'45"W |
Area Served: | San Jose, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of San Jose |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 62 feet (19 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SJC |
More Information: | SJC Maps & Info |
Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):
- Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and is the oldest continually operating commercial airfield in North America.
- Bowman Field is operated by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, which also operates Louisville International Airport.
- Bowman Field was used in the James Bond film Goldfinger as the base for Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.
- During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment.
- Today Bowman Field is home to hundreds of privately owned aircraft as well as several commercial operations, including Central American Airways, which opened its doors in 1946, Falcon Aviation, Aero Club of Louisville, Inc., and Louisville Executive Aviation.
- The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
Facts about Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC):
- After the September 11 attacks and the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, the city lost several flights.
- SJC is a "downtown airport", unlike SFO and OAK which are on opposite shores of San Francisco Bay.
- The closest airport to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of SJC.
- Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
- SJC suffered with many mid-tier airports during the 2008 rise in oil prices as airlines reduced marginal services.
- American Airlines opened a hub at San Jose in 1988, using slots it obtained in the buyout of Air California in 1986.
- Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,363 miles (18,287 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- In December 2011, All Nippon Airways announced it would begin service between San Jose and Tokyo in 2012, restoring the link between the two cities that was lost when American ended the route in 2006.
- Because of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.