LH510 distance and great-circle path
LH510 covers 11,502 km, or 7,147 miles. That makes it an ultra-long-haul flight, near the limit of what most twinjets can fly non-stop. Of the 439 routes we track, it ranks 40 by distance.
The plane leaves Frankfurt heading south-west. On the map above, the line looks curved. That is normal. The shortest path over a round planet never looks straight on a flat screen. Our guide explains how the FRA-EZE route appears on a tracker map.
Why LH510 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 11.9 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 965 km/h. A Boeing 747-8 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.
Flying west, this route pushes against the wind. The trip back east is usually shorter, even though the distance is the same. See how timing changes the trip in our red-eye flight guide.
Can the Boeing 747-8 comfortably fly LH510?
Not really. It uses about 80% of the Boeing 747-8's range. That leaves room for a full load of passengers and bags. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Boeing 747-8.
What to know about LH510
- Time change: you land 4 hours behind the time you left.
- Crosses the equator: you swap seasons between takeoff and landing.