An air mile is another term for a nautical mile, which is 6,076 feet long. The term is generally used when describing the distance an aircraft is traveling, while the term "nautical mile" is used when describing the length of a boat's journey.
For a long time, countries around the world did not have a standardized definition of a nautical mile, or air mile. A nautical mile's length was decided upon by international agreement in 1929. This type of mile is the length of one minute of arc of latitude when measured along any meridian. It is extremely useful in defining countries' territorial limits in international treaties.
A statute mile is the formal term for a mile, which is 5,280 feet long. An English Act of Parliament determined this as the official length at the end of the 16th century. When the statute mile is used for surveying purposes, it is split into eight furlongs, each of which equals ten chains, each of which in turn is akin to four rods. Each rod is 16.5 feet, or 25 links.
One statute mile equals about 0.87 air miles. In order to convert air miles to statute miles, multiply the number of air miles by 0.87. One air mile is 1.15 statute miles. In order to convert statute miles to air miles, divide the number of statute miles by 1.15.
