Flight time from Kuala Lumpur to San Francisco

How long is the flight from Kuala Lumpur to San Francisco?

A non-stop flight from Kuala Lumpur to San Francisco takes about 17 hours. The two cities are 13,634 km (8,472 miles) apart in a straight line, measured between KLIA (KUL) and San Francisco International (SFO).

This is a long-haul route. If there is no direct flight on your dates, a connection through a hub usually adds 2–6 hours to the journey.

The estimate assumes an average speed of about 830 km/h plus around 35 minutes for taxiing, take-off and landing. Real schedules vary with the airline, aircraft, route and winds – heading east with the jet stream, flights are often a little quicker than this. Check your booking for the exact time.

Time difference and arrival time

San Francisco is 16 hours behind Kuala Lumpur right now. A flight leaving Kuala Lumpur at 10:00 local time lands at about 11:00 local time in San Francisco. With a 16h shift, expect some jet lag: as a rough guide the body adjusts by about an hour a day, and flying west (as on this trip) is usually easier than the other way.

Current time in Kuala Lumpur · Current time in San Francisco · Flight time from San Francisco to Kuala Lumpur

More flights from Kuala Lumpur

• Kuala Lumpur to Singapore 55m
• Kuala Lumpur to Phuket 1h 25m
• Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh 1h 50m
• Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City 1h 50m
• Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta 1h 55m
• Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok 2h 5m
• Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles 17h 40m
• Kuala Lumpur to Toronto 18h 30m
• Kuala Lumpur to Chicago 18h 35m
• Kuala Lumpur to New York 18h 50m

More flights from San Francisco

• San Francisco to Los Angeles 1h 15m
• San Francisco to Vancouver 2h 10m
• San Francisco to Chicago 4h 10m
• San Francisco to Mexico City 4h 15m
• San Francisco to Toronto 4h 55m
• San Francisco to Cancún 5h 15m
• San Francisco to Mumbai 16h 50m
• San Francisco to Singapore 16h 55m
• San Francisco to Jakarta 17h 25m
• San Francisco to Nairobi 19h 10m

Why arrival times look strange

Airline schedules always show local times: departure in the departure city’s time and arrival in the arrival city’s time. Fly east and you “lose” hours – a 7-hour flight from New York to London leaving at 19:00 lands at 07:00 the next morning. Fly west and you gain them, which is how you can land in Los Angeles almost at the same clock time you left Tokyo. This calculator handles the time zones and daylight saving time for you.

How the flight time estimate works

In estimate mode the calculator measures the great-circle distance between the two cities – the shortest route over the Earth’s surface – and assumes an average speed of about 830 km/h (515 mph), plus around 35 minutes for taxiing, take-off and landing. That gives a good guide for a non-stop flight. Real schedules vary with the airline, aircraft, winds and route: flights heading east with the jet stream are often quicker than the same trip heading west, so always check your booking for the exact time.