Eli5: Why do some flights go so far north before crossing the Pacific Ocean?

Question

There is a flight going from Dallas Texas to Tokyo but they appear to be going all the way to Alaska before crossing and coming back down.

In: 1

Answer 1

It is the shortest path. Same with routes from US west coast to Europe, which often go over northern Canada and Greenland. You can see this clearly if you stretch a string between 2 cities on a globe, or in Google Earth, with the measuring tool.