Summary
- The US's longest non-stop Boeing 737 MAX route is operated by Gol
- It is one of 10 long-haul MAX routes involving the US
- Fiji Airways operates one of the most interesting services
In September, the US's average 737 MAX route will cover 1,165 miles (1,875 km). Yet 10 non-stop routes fall into the long-haul territory, defined here as 3,000 miles (4,828 km) or more. They include two domestic offerings – and the world's longest MAX service.
The 10 routes
According to OAG data, Brazil's Gol operates the US – and the world's – longest MAX route, as shown in the following table. This is Brasília to Orlando, top by both distance and block time. This is shown in schedules and reflects flight time, taxi time at both airports, and time for short delays.
Note that United's daily seasonal Newark-Anchorage service ends (in that direction) on September 3rd, with Houston-Anchorage ceasing the following day. Both resumed in June and are exclusively by the MAX: the 166-seat MAX 8 from New Jersey and the 179-seat MAX 9 from Texas.
Miles (km) | Route in September | Airline | Max block time* | MAX variant | MAX flights in September* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3,777 (6,079) | Brasília to Orlando | Gol | 8h 30m | MAX 8 | Four weekly |
3,599 (5,792) | Brasília to Miami | Gol | 8h 5m | MAX 8 | Four weekly |
3,534 (5,687) | Keflavik to Orlando | Icelandair | 8h 0m | MAX 8 | Four weekly (see below) |
3,458 (5,565) | Fortaleza to Miami | Gol | 7h 50m | MAX 8 | Weekly |
3,370 (5,423) | Newark to Anchorage | United | 7h 43m | MAX 8 | Daily (see above) |
3,320 (5,342) | Panama City to San Francisco | Copa | 7h 32m | MAX 9 | Daily |
3,266 (5,256) | Houston Intercontinental to Anchorage | United | 7h 19m | MAX 9 | Daily (see above) |
3,162 (5,089) | Honolulu to Nadi | Fiji Airways | 6h 50m | MAX 8 | Weekly |
3,016 (4,854) | Keflavik to Raleigh Durham | Icelandair | 6h 45m | MAX 8 | Five weekly |
3,010 (4,844) | Panama City to Los Angeles | Copa | 7h 0m | MAX 9 | 20 weekly |
* Either direction | * May vary slightly by week |
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Icelandair's Orlando back in September
Mainly a winter-seasonal route, Icelandair to Orlando returns on September 11th. While it will exclusively utilize the 160-seat MAX 8 through September (typically four weekly) and October (daily), the larger 757-200 will be jointly used in November and December. The MAX 8 will then be solely used from January onward. In September, it is scheduled as follows, with all times local:
- Keflavik to Orlando: FI 689, 17:15-21:15 (8h block time)
- Orlando to Keflavik: FI688, 18:30-06:00+1 (7h 30m)
Notice that the operating aircraft arrives in Florida at 21:15 but does not leave for around 20 hours, a considerable amount of time for a new and expensive aircraft. It arrives back on day three, very underutilized for the length of haul.
Of course, it does this entirely to maximize two-way connectivity over its Keflavik hub. If it left Orlando at, say, 22:45, it would arrive home at 10:15 the next day – missing all transfer opportunities. This would be much more expensive than overnighting its aircraft as flights would be nearly empty. For this reason, it also overnights aircraft on its West Coast and Denver routes.
Hello, Fiji Airways!
Perhaps the most exotic US non-stop long-haul MAX route is Fiji Airways' Nadi-Honolulu. Operating weekly, it flies virtually entirely over water, the outbound leg arrives the day before taking off, and the return flight is entirely overnight.
Long served, it also deployed the 737-800 in the past decade, with the MAX 8 less impressive as it was built for longer missions. It is scheduled as follows, with all times local:
- Nadi to Honolulu: FJ820, 13:45-22:20-1 day (6h 35m); departs on Sunday
- Honolulu to Nadi: FJ821, 23:30-04:25+2 days (6h 50m); leaves on Saturday
Have you flown the MAX on any routes mentioned in this article? If so, share your experiences in the comments.
Sources of information: OAG, ch-aviation.com, Flightradar24, Google Flights