Rough flight time at cruise speed.
Time = Distance ÷ Speed. Aviation uses nautical miles and knots by convention.
This is pure cruise-time; add ~30 min for taxi, takeoff, climb, and descent for a real flight.
Wind has an outsized effect on flight time compared to driving, since cruise altitudes often have consistently strong winds — a flight with a strong tailwind can genuinely land significantly earlier than the same route against a headwind.
2000 nautical miles at 500 knots = 3h 29m cruise.
Nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles. Aviation standard because it maps to 1 minute of latitude.
Yes — real block times are typically 30–60 min longer than pure cruise. Winds also matter (headwind slows, tailwind speeds).
Jet stream winds at cruise altitude typically blow west to east, so eastbound flights often get a tailwind boost while westbound flights fight a headwind — this is a real, physical effect, not scheduling padding.