Dallas–Fort Worth to Melbourne (DFW–MEL): distance and flight time

Flight time each way

DFW → MEL

18 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 246° (WSW).

Leave Dallas–Fort Worth Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Melbourne Sun 8 Nov, 21:15 local +1 day.

MEL → DFW

16 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 76° (ENE).

Leave Melbourne Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Dallas–Fort Worth Sat 7 Nov, 09:50 local.

MEL-bound flights are the slower direction by about 90 minutes in our estimate: the route runs mostly east–west through latitudes where the prevailing westerly winds at cruise height are strong, so heading east rides a tailwind and heading west fights a headwind. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance	14,475 km · 8,995 mi · 7,816 nmi
Initial heading	246° (WSW) from DFW; 76° (ENE) from MEL
Farthest from the equator	37.7°S
Crosses	the equator and the 180th meridian (International Date Line area)
Share of the longest possible trip	72% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

DFW	America/Chicago — UTC−5 now; UTC−6 standard time, UTC−5 during daylight saving time
MEL	Australia/Melbourne — UTC+11 now; UTC+10 standard time, UTC+11 during daylight saving time
Difference	Melbourne is 16 hours ahead of Dallas–Fort Worth today; +17 h in January and +15 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying DFW → MEL. The clock change is 16 hours, but to your body that is a shift of 8 hours the other way. Your body clock has to move 8 hours later, like a westward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 8 days to fully adjust. Shifting later (as here) is usually the easier direction; evening daylight at the destination helps. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

DFW Dallas Fort Worth International AirportDallas–Fort Worth, United States · longest runway 13,401 ft4,085 m

MEL Melbourne AirportMelbourne, Australia · longest runway 11,998 ft3,657 m

More routes from DFW and MEL

DFWIAH Dallas–Fort Worth – Houston 362 km225 mi · 1 h 25 min DFWORD Dallas–Fort Worth – Chicago 1,291 km802 mi · 2 h 25 min DFWLAS Dallas–Fort Worth – Las Vegas 1,695 km1,053 mi · 3 h 10 min LGADFW New York – Dallas–Fort Worth 2,231 km1,387 mi · 3 h 50 min DFWFRA Dallas–Fort Worth – Frankfurt 8,258 km5,131 mi · 9 h 50 min DFWSYD Dallas–Fort Worth – Sydney 13,808 km8,580 mi · 17 h 25 min MELHBA Melbourne – Hobart 618 km384 mi · 1 h 45 min SYDMEL Sydney – Melbourne 706 km438 mi · 1 h 55 min MELAKL Melbourne – Auckland 2,637 km1,639 mi · 3 h 45 min MELDPS Melbourne – Bali (Denpasar) 4,381 km2,722 mi · 6 h 15 min MELHND Melbourne – Tokyo 8,158 km5,069 mi · 10 h 20 min LAXMEL Los Angeles – Melbourne 12,758 km7,928 mi · 16 h 10 min

Routes of a similar length

LHRPER London – Perth 14,508 km9,015 mi · 16 h 45 min DOHAKL Doha – Auckland 14,534 km9,031 mi · 16 h 50 min AKLJFK Auckland – New York 14,215 km8,833 mi · 16 h 30 min DXBAKL Dubai – Auckland 14,199 km8,823 mi · 16 h 30 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).

DFW Dallas–Fort Worth ⇄ MEL Melbourne