United Airlines Launches New 6-Hour Nonstop Boeing 737 MAX Routes: See Map Now

James lives and breathes route development. Educated in Air Transport Management at Loughborough University and Cranfield University, James has a PhD in Airline Strategy and Economics. James was Market Opportunity Analyst at London Luton Airport and Chief Analyst at anna.aero. He taught airline strategy and economics to undergraduate and postgraduate students for five years and has worked closely with multiple carriers on route and market intelligence projects. He is based near London, UK.

You may know by now that United Airlines has added four new and returning routes to its network. It'll fly from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Bermuda, along with San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Charleston, Hartford, and Oklahoma City. You can read about them here.

The Star Alliance member last served the link from ORD all the way back in 2007. Meanwhile, the routes from California to Connecticut and Oklahoma last saw its frames in 2020. Only SFO to Charleston will be a brand-new market for the airline. Two of the markets (Hartford and Charleston) will have a maximum block time exceeding six hours.

United From San Francisco To Charleston

On March 28, 2027, United will lift off from its Pacific hub of SFO to Charleston International Airport (CHS) for the first time. Four weekly services on the 166-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8 will exist. Covering 2,082 nautical miles (3,856 km) each way, it'll become CHS's new second-longest nonstop service, after Alaska Airlines from Seattle.

OAG data shows that this long transcontinental airport pair did not have any nonstop flights until 2022, when Breeze Airways launched service. Beginning on May 26, 2022, it was the fast-growing airline's second-ever transcontinental operation, after Richmond to SFO, which began the day before.

While the Richmond link is still served, CHS was very different, as flights ended after less than a year in January 2023. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that Breeze filled 76.1% of seats, although some months exceeded 85.0%. As almost everyone only flew between the two places, that was reasonable for a new airline and a brand-new route in very little time. The problem was probably that the fares needed to achieve it were insufficiently high.

It remains a decent-sized local market. In the 12 months to July 2026, the DOT shows that 59,200 round-trip passengers flew indirectly between SFO and CHS (162 daily). SFO was CHS's third-largest unserved domestic market. United's schedule (8:10 AM departure from SFO and 8:50 PM arrival back) will particularly feed Asia-Pacific services.

Then There's San Francisco To Hartford

Also on March 28, United will reintroduce service from SFO to Hartford's Bradley International Airport (BDL). A daily operation on the 179-seat 737 MAX 9 will be available. At 2,281 nautical miles (km) each way, it'll become BDL's new longest domestic link, replacing Las Vegas. Of course, when all routes are considered, it'll rank second, after Aer Lingus to Dublin.

United served the long market with regular flights between 1997 and 2001 and again from 2017 to 2018. JetBlue entered the fray amid the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020 but pulled out in April 2022. SFO-BDL has been unserved for the past four and a half years.

At 82,400 round-trip passengers, the local traffic is decent (226 daily). SFO is BDL's second-largest unserved domestic market, after Los Angeles (118,100). A problem with such transcon markets is that there are many hubs and airlines to choose from, each offering multiple departure times daily and thus huge choice and convenience. United is already the market leader to/from SFO, transporting 31.9% of the traffic, mainly via Washington Dulles, ORD, and Denver.

SFO's Largest Unserved Domestic Markets

Between August 2025 and July 2026, DOT data shows that New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) was SFO's largest unserved domestic market (91,200 local passengers). Of course, LGA's perimeter rule is a major obstacle. BDL was second (82,400), followed by San Juan (in the US territory of Puerto Rico; 72,400), Jacksonville (60,100), CHS (59,200), Buffalo (54,500), Madison (54,300), Albany (49,700), Milwaukee (46,100), and Norfolk (43,400).

What about the top five destinations for local traffic from SFO that are served, just not by United? Unsurprisingly, New York JFK is first (1.8 million; four airlines have flights; United serves Newark). Charlotte is second (American; 233,400), followed by Chicago Midway (81,400; Southwest; United serves ORD), Seattle Paine Field (74,800; Alaska Airlines; United serves Seattle-Tacoma), and Richmond (70,000; Breeze).