“Looking at the proposed route as shown on the map in the article, wouldn’t it be shorter to fly east, across the Pacific, instead of the other direction?”
Just off the top of my head, 24,000 miles (roughly the circumference of the earth) minus 8,700 miles leaves 15,300 for the distance going the other way.
Let me check Google Earth.
(Also, long over-water routes have different rules for type of aircraft, divert distances, etc.)
BTW, that 8,700 miles is measured over the Pole, flying north from India, over Nepal, China, Mongolia, Russia and Alaska.
Flying “the other way around, over the Pacific”, via Hawaii is 10,566 miles.