Flight Time Calculator
Taxi and climb are a fixed cost short flights cannot escape.
Taxi and climb are a fixed cost short flights cannot escape.
Block time, gate to gate
7:13:14
6:28:14 at cruise · arrives about 12.2:00 local
Cruise accounts for 90% of this flight. Taxi, climb and descent are a roughly fixed cost, which is why a short flight takes proportionally far longer than the distance suggests — and why point-to-point emissions per kilometre are so much worse on short routes. A headwind of 100 km/h on a long-haul sector adds close to an hour, which is most of why eastbound and westbound transatlantic times differ so much.
How the Flight Time Calculator works
Gate-to-gate flight time from distance and cruise speed, with a fixed allowance for taxi, climb and descent and an adjustment for wind. Arrival time is given in both local time and body-clock time.
Also known as: how long is the flight · flight duration from distance · block time versus air time · why do eastbound flights take less time
The fixed cost that short flights cannot escape
Taxi, take-off, climb, descent and approach take a roughly constant amount of time regardless of route length — commonly 30 to 60 minutes combined. Only the cruise portion scales with distance.
Which means a 500 km flight might spend a third of its block time not at cruise, while a 10,000 km flight spends under a tenth. The short flight is far less efficient per kilometre for exactly this reason.
It is also why short-haul emissions per passenger-kilometre run so much higher than long-haul. The fuel-intensive phases are the same in absolute terms and a much larger share of the total, which is the arithmetic behind most short-haul flight criticism.
Wind, and why the same route differs by direction
The jet stream is a band of fast-moving air in the upper atmosphere, typically 100 to 200 km/h and occasionally far more. Aircraft route to ride it eastbound and avoid it westbound.
On a transatlantic sector that routinely produces an hour or more of difference on the same city pair. A 100 km/h tailwind on an 850 km/h cruise is a 12% change in ground speed, applied over seven or eight hours.
It is also why the same flight varies day to day. Wind, routing around weather and airspace restrictions all move the number, which is why airlines schedule against averages and pad the block time to protect on-time statistics.
Great-circle distance and why the map is misleading
The shortest path between two points on a sphere is a great circle, which on a standard flat projection appears curved. It is why London to Tokyo passes close to the Arctic rather than following what looks like a straight line.
The difference is not marginal on long routes. A great-circle path can be many hundreds of kilometres shorter than the apparently straight one on a Mercator map, which is a real fuel and time saving.
Actual tracks are longer than the great circle because of airways, weather avoidance, airspace closures and diversion-airport rules. ETOPS ratings, which govern how far a twin-engine aircraft may be from a diversion field, determine how directly oceanic routes can be flown.
Where to go next
The Flight Time question rarely arrives on its own. These are the ones that usually come with it:
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Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate flight time?
Divide the great-circle distance by the effective cruise speed, then add a fixed allowance for taxi, climb and descent. That fixed part is typically 30 to 60 minutes and it does not shrink for a shorter route.
Why are short flights so inefficient?
Because the fixed ground and manoeuvring time is a much larger share of a short flight. A 500 km hop can spend a third of its block time not at cruise, which is also why short-haul emissions per kilometre are so much worse.
Why do eastbound flights take less time?
The jet stream. Transatlantic eastbound flights ride a tailwind of 100 to 200 km/h and westbound fight it, which routinely produces an hour or more of difference on the same route.
What is block time?
Gate to gate, including taxi at both ends — the figure airlines schedule against. Air time is shorter, and the gap is why a flight can be late off the gate and on time on arrival.
How is great-circle distance different from map distance?
It is the shortest path over a sphere, which on a flat map looks curved. It is why a London to Tokyo route passes near the Arctic rather than following a straight line on the chart.
Does cruise altitude affect the time?
Indirectly. Higher altitudes have thinner air and less drag, so true airspeed is higher for the same fuel — but the climb takes time and fuel, which is why short flights cruise lower.
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