QF9 distance and great-circle path
QF9 covers 14,508 km, or 9,015 miles. That makes it an ultra-long-range flight, one of the longest commercial sectors flown anywhere. It is the 7th longest route we track.
The plane leaves Perth 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 PER-LHR route appears on a tracker map.
Why QF9 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 17.3 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 837 km/h. A Boeing 787-9 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 787-9 comfortably fly QF9?
Yes. The route uses roughly 104% of what a Boeing 787-9 can fly. On a windy day the airline may carry less cargo to save fuel. Flights this close to the limit are the ones that sometimes make a fuel stop. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Boeing 787-9.
What to know about QF9
- Time change: you land 8 hours behind the time you left. That is enough to cause jet lag. Here is how pilots handle it.
- Crosses the equator: you swap seasons between takeoff and landing.