United Airlines has far more long-haul flights on the Boeing 737 MAX than any other US carrier. According to the latest OAG data, the Star Alliance member will have 82% of them this year. That sheer dominance is unsurprising, as only one other US operator—Alaska Airlines—uses the type in long-haul markets.

When foreign operators are included, United’s share falls to 27%. Then, it is the second-largest user of the equipment, after Copa Airlines, which is one of its strategic partners. And while United’s offering on the single-aisle type reaches eight hours, that is eclipsed by other carriers’ US services, particularly Icelandair (up to 8h 20m) and GOL (up to 8h 15m).

United’s 10 Longest Flights On The 737 MAX

Credit: GCMap

The list includes a good array of both domestic and international links, although not all of them are long-haul. It is especially good to see the intra-US markets, which necessarily primarily focus on Anchorage. There’s one exception. That’s San Juan, the capital of the US territory of Puerto Rico, back to Denver. The long route, which began in October 2023, is considered domestic.

As usual with such analysis, various other airport pairs were just short of being included. For example, with a maximum block time of 6h 33m, both Chicago O’Hare to Fairbanks and the brand-new route between Portland (Maine) and San Francisco nearly featured. Likewise, Miami to San Francisco (up to 6h 31m), Los Angeles to Lihue (up to 6h 31m), and Georgetown (Guyana) back to Houston (6h 30m). The latter route has United’s lowest international load factor.

Santiago Will Finally Get Its 1st US Route

Credit: United Airlines

Santiago de Compostela is located in the northwest of Spain, not too far from Portugal’s northern border. According to OAG data, the Spanish airport’s longest regularly served route in 2025 was to Tenerife South (not Tenerife North), with flights timed at up to 2h 55m.

Things will be very different this year. On May 27, two months after this article was written, United will lift off from Newark to Santiago. Underpinned by financial incentives and probably other risk-sharing agreements, the Star carrier will begin the first-ever US service from Northwest Spain. It is bound to make my weekly celebratory new routes article (see the most recent edition).

The existing traffic is not high. According to booking data, Santiago—along with the nearby cities of Vigo and A Coruña—had approximately 53,000 indirect passengers who flew to/from the US/Canada last year.

United’s brand-new nonstop offering will easily grow the market, especially if joined by strong promotions by both the airline and tourism officials. And with the first season only having 51 round-trip flights on the 166-seat MAX 8, United has a modest 17,000 seats for sale.

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A Look At United From Washington Dulles To Anchorage

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The long route between Dulles and Anchorage has been part of United’s network since May 2024. Thanks to a longer operating period in 2026, the carrier plans the most flights to date.

While OAG shows that it will be United’s longest route from Dulles on the MAX, it will ‘only’ be its third-longest single-aisle service this year, after Edinburgh (757-200) and Dublin (757-200).

According to the US Department of Transportation, United filled 68.9% of Dulles-Anchorage seats in the first season, which rose to 76.7% last year. Given the increased operating window, it was evidently pleased with the progress. Approximately 53% of passengers were local; they only flew between the two airports. This reasonably high proportion would have helped with higher yields, which is critical to route performance.