KL897 distance and great-circle path
KL897 covers 7,828 km, or 4,864 miles. That makes it a long-haul flight, a widebody route with a full night's flying time. Of the 439 routes we track, it ranks 142 by distance.
The plane leaves Amsterdam heading north-east. 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 AMS-PEK route appears on a tracker map.
Why KL897 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 11.3 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 691 km/h. A Boeing 777-300ER cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.
Flying east, this route usually picks up tailwinds high up. The flight back west normally takes longer, even though the distance is identical. See how timing changes the trip in our red-eye flight guide.
Can the Boeing 777-300ER comfortably fly KL897?
Not really. It uses about 57% of the Boeing 777-300ER's range. That leaves room for a full load of passengers and bags. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Boeing 777-300ER.
What to know about KL897
- Time change: you land 7 hours ahead of the time you left. That is enough to cause jet lag. Here is how pilots handle it.