dailynewsnblog
Earlier this month, 
United Airlines began flying between 
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Meadows Field Airport (BFL) in Bakersfield for the first time since August 2014. The carrier will serve this short route daily using Embraer E175 jets operated by its feeder partner, SkyWest Airlines, under the United Express banner. The flights take around an hour.
At least that is the case for their block time. However, because this includes a considerable buffer for the long, busy taxiways at LAX, the actual time spent in the air tends to be closer to 30 minutes. The route is one of two intra-California corridors that United serves from Bakersfield, with the other linking the facility to San Francisco.
Back In Action
According to AeroRoutes, flights between LAX and BFL resumed on August 11. The outbound leg, UA4804, leaves Los Angeles at 10:43 AM and reaches Bakersfield at 11:40 AM.
For the return leg, UA4730 departs Bakersfield at 2:03 PM and arrives back at LAX at 3:05 PM. The actual time spent in the air is much shorter than the hour-long block times, with Flightradar24 showing that the fastest iteration of UA4804 thus far took just 24 minutes. Bill LaManque, Director of Kern County Department of Airports, welcomed the route’s launch in a statement earlier this year.
“Each new route expands access, supports local businesses, and strengthens our region’s economic vitality. We’re proud to partner with both United Airlines and American Airlines in delivering these essential connections.”
Bakersfield’s Operations As A Whole
United is one of two major US carriers selling flights out of Bakersfield, with the other being its rival and fellow ‘big three’ operator 
American Airlines. The Texas-based oneworld founding member flies from there to its hubs at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). The former is served daily by Airbus A320s from the mainline fleet.
As for Phoenix, this route averages more than three daily departures, with data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showing 99 flights across August 2026. American’s mainline A319s account for 32 of these, with the remaining 67 operated by regional jets: one by a SkyWest CRJ700, four by Envoy Air Embraer E175s, 26 by SkyWest E175s, and 36 by SkyWest CRJ900 jets.
Bakersfield Departures, August 2026 | |
|---|---|
Airline | Flights |
American Airlines | 63 |
American Eagle | 67 |
United Airlines | 31 |
United Express | 111 |
As for United, its only mainline flights from Bakersfield serve its Colorado hub at Denver International Airport (DEN) using A319s. Denver is also served on a daily basis by United Express flights operated by SkyWest’s E175s. Elsewhere in California, SkyWest Airlines operates twice-daily United Express flights to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), using both Bombardier CRJs and Embraer E175s,
United’s Other Ultra-Short LAX Routes
Despite Cirium listing the distance from LAX to Bakersfield as being just 109 miles (175.4 km), this is not the shortest United-marketed route out of the carrier’s Southern California hub. Instead, the shortest route is to Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA), just 89 miles (143.2 km) away. United Express flights operated by SkyWest E175s serve this route twice on most days.
Another United Express route out of LAX below the 150-mile mark is the link to Palm Springs (PSP). This 110-mile (177 km) corridor is served daily by SkyWest’s E175s, and it is just a mile longer than United’s shortest mainline route out of LAX, which serves San Diego (SAN). Of this month’s 93 flights (three a day), 73 will use Boeing 737s, with 20 using regional E175s.
