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Scheduling Meetings Between Asia-Pacific and the Americas
The Pacific Ocean creates some of the widest time zone gaps in global business. Singapore is 13 hours ahead of New York and 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles. Sydney is 14–16 hours ahead of New York—which actually wraps nearly all the way around, making a same-day overlap essentially impossible on standard schedules. This page breaks down the specific windows for the most common APAC–Americas city pairs, and offers practical strategies for teams that run these calls weekly. Use the calculator above to find the live overlap for your exact cities and hours.
Singapore to Los Angeles
Singapore (SGT, UTC+8) is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles (PST, UTC−8) in Northern Hemisphere winter, or 15 hours during US daylight saving time. The only practical window for same-day calls is early morning LA time: an 8 AM call in LA lands at 11 PM or midnight in Singapore. Many APAC–Americas teams treat this as a “one side takes evenings” arrangement and rotate the inconvenience monthly. See the Los Angeles to Singapore calculator for the current window.
Sydney to New York: the “almost full circle” problem
Sydney (AEDT in southern hemisphere summer) can be UTC+11, which is 16 hours ahead of New York’s UTC−5. This means a 9 AM Sydney meeting lands at 5 PM New York the previous day. The window for both sides to be in normal hours essentially does not exist. The most common approach is 8 AM Sydney / 5–6 PM New York the day before—which means New York stays late at the end of their day to attend Sydney’s morning call. Use the Sydney to New York tool for live times.
Tokyo and Seoul to the US West Coast
Tokyo (JST, UTC+9) is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles (PDT) during US summer. The overlap window is small but exists: 5–6 PM LA / 9–10 AM Tokyo the next morning is a workable slot for West Coast teams willing to end their day with a call. New York to Tokyo is slightly easier—8 AM New York / 9–10 PM Tokyo. See the New York to Tokyo calculator or the Los Angeles to Tokyo calculator for your specific pair.
Making APAC–Americas schedules sustainable
The key insight for long-running APAC–Americas team relationships: document the rotation clearly, write it into a team agreement, and review it quarterly. People accept inconvenient meeting times much more readily when the system is transparent and fair. Teams that rely on one region to always adapt tend to see burnout and attrition in that region first. See the strategies section below for a practical framework.
APAC–Americas Time Zone Quick Reference
The table below shows standard offsets and practical meeting slots for common APAC–Americas city pairs. “Next morning / previous evening” indicates which side is attending outside their business day. Offsets shift during DST transitions—see the note below the table.
| APAC City | Americas City | Offset (typical) | Practical meeting slot | Who adjusts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore (SGT) | New York (ET) | +13 h | 8–9 AM NY / 9–10 PM SGT | Singapore (evening) |
| Singapore (SGT) | Los Angeles (PT) | +16 h | 8 AM LA / 12 AM SGT | Singapore (late night) |
| Tokyo (JST) | New York (ET) | +14 h | 8 AM NY / 9–10 PM Tokyo | Tokyo (evening) |
| Tokyo (JST) | Los Angeles (PT) | +17 h | 5–6 PM LA / 9–10 AM Tokyo (+1) | LA (late afternoon) |
| Sydney (AEDT) | New York (ET) | +16 h | 8 AM Sydney / 5–6 PM NY (prev. day) | New York (late evening) |
| Sydney (AEDT) | Los Angeles (PT) | +19 h | 8 AM Sydney / 1–2 PM LA (prev. day) | Both outside 9–5 |
| Hong Kong (HKT) | New York (ET) | +13 h | 8–9 AM NY / 9–10 PM HKT | Hong Kong (evening) |
| Mumbai (IST) | Los Angeles (PT) | +13.5 h | 8 AM LA / 9:30 PM Mumbai | Mumbai (late evening) |
Note on Australia’s DST: Australia’s eastern states (NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania) observe daylight saving from October to April—the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere. This means the Sydney–Americas offset changes four times per year (twice when Australia changes, twice when the US changes). The gap between Sydney and New York ranges from 14 to 16 hours depending on the time of year.
Practical Strategies for APAC–Americas Teams
When there is no comfortable overlap window, the question becomes how to distribute the inconvenience fairly and sustainably. These are the strategies that work best for distributed teams with long-term APAC–Americas relationships:
- Rotate the burden on a fixed schedule. If Singapore always takes the 9 PM call, burnout follows within a year. A documented monthly or quarterly rotation—where the Americas side covers evening calls half the time—normalizes the inconvenience and prevents resentment.
- Create an async-first default. For status updates, document reviews, and decisions that don’t need live discussion, a shared document or recorded video eliminates the scheduling problem entirely. Reserve live calls for decisions that genuinely need back-and-forth.
- Buffer 30 minutes around the overlap window. The APAC–Americas window is often 1 hour or less. Booking a 45-minute call in a 1-hour window with no buffer guarantees someone is late or running over into their off-hours. Build in buffer from the start.
- Use the “follow-the-sun” handoff for cross-timezone projects. Rather than forcing both regions onto the same call, structured handoff documents—updated at the end of each region’s day—can replace daily syncs entirely for project work.
- For three-region calls (US + APAC + Europe), use the three time zones scheduler to visualize all three windows simultaneously. These calls almost always require one or two regions to adjust significantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time for a Singapore to New York meeting?
8–9 AM New York (EST) / 9–10 PM Singapore is the most common slot. It keeps New York in normal morning hours and asks Singapore to join at the end of their evening. Many teams rotate this with an 8 AM Singapore / 7 PM New York (previous day) option to share the inconvenience. Use the Los Angeles–Singapore or New York–Tokyo calculators for related pairs.
Is there any good overlap between Sydney and Los Angeles?
On strict 9–5 schedules, no. Sydney is roughly 18–19 hours ahead of LA, meaning the windows don’t overlap during business hours for either city. The most practical slot is 8 AM Sydney / 1–2 PM LA the previous day, or 5 PM LA / 10–11 AM Sydney the following morning. Check the Sydney to New York tool for the current live window.
How does Australia’s daylight saving time affect scheduling?
Australia’s eastern states (NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania) observe daylight saving time from October to April—opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. When the US is on summer time, Sydney is on standard time, and vice versa. The offset between Sydney and New York varies between 14 and 16 hours depending on the time of year. This tool always uses the current offset, so the displayed window is always accurate.
What is the best meeting time between Tokyo and New York?
Tokyo (JST, UTC+9) is 13–14 hours ahead of New York. The most practical slot is 8 AM New York / 9–10 PM Tokyo, or 7–8 AM Tokyo the next morning / 6–7 PM New York. There is no overlap during standard 9–5 business hours for either city. Use the New York to Tokyo calculator to find today’s exact window.
Related Tools
Looking for a specific APAC–Americas city pair or a broader scheduling view?
- Los Angeles ↔ Singapore — live overlap with current DST
- Sydney ↔ New York — southern hemisphere scheduling
- Los Angeles ↔ Tokyo — West Coast to Japan
- New York ↔ Tokyo — East Coast to Japan
- Three time zones scheduler — US + APAC + Europe three-way calls
- New York ↔ Beijing — US–China scheduling
- US ↔ Europe — the easier transatlantic gap