MH1 distance and great-circle path
MH1 covers 10,605 km, or 6,590 miles. That makes it an ultra-long-haul flight, near the limit of what most twinjets can fly non-stop. Of the 255 routes we track, it ranks 52 by distance.
The plane leaves Kuala Lumpur heading north-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 KUL–LHR route appears on a tracker map.
Why MH1 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 13.8 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 771 km/h. An Airbus A350-900 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.
Winds aloft shift the real flight time by up to an hour in either direction. See how timing changes the trip in our red-eye flight guide.
Can the Airbus A350-900 comfortably fly MH1?
Not really. It uses about 71% of the Airbus A350-900's range. That leaves room for a full load of passengers and bags. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Airbus A350-900.
What to know about MH1
- Time change: you land 7 hours behind the time you left. That is enough to cause jet lag. Here is how pilots handle it.