Here are the flight paths laid end to end. You can see the shortest path.
Picture: Map of the United States, with flight paths indicated between ten cities. San Francisco has flight paths to Spokane and Phoenix. Spokane has a flight path to Memphis. Memphis has flight paths to Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. Minneapolis has flight paths to Pittsburgh and New York City. Pittsburgh has a flight path to New York City. Phoenix has a flight path to Dallas. Dallas has flight paths to Atlanta and Miami. Miami has flight paths to Atlanta and New York City. Atlanta has a flight path to New York City. All flight paths are highlighted.
Picture: Four of the flight paths are shown in increasing order of length. The paths are as follows:
3010 miles: San Francisco to Phoenix (650 miles), Phoenix to Dallas (870 miles), Dallas to Atlanta (730 miles), Atlanta to New York (760 miles)
3460 miles: San Francisco to Spokane (735 miles), Spokane to Memphis (1,660 miles), Memphis to Pittsburgh (725 miles), Pittsburgh to New York (760 miles)
3740 miles: San Francisco to Phoenix (650 miles), Phoenix to Dallas (870 miles), Dallas to Miami (1,320 miles), Miami to New York (1,100 miles)
4115 miles: San Francisco to Spokane (735 miles), Spokane to Memphis (1,660 miles), Memphis to Minneapolis (700 miles), Minneapolis to New York (1,020 miles)