Does eight hours on a MAX sound like a lot? United Airlines makes three-quarters trip around the world on 737
Intercontinental (or otherwise medium- to long-haul) flights operated with narrow-body aircraft are the latest frontier (and not necessarily [...]
United Airlines
Star Alliance
SFO
Intercontinental (or otherwise medium- to long-haul) flights operated with narrow-body aircraft are the latest frontier (and not necessarily in a good way) of commercial aviation.
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A few days ago on The Flight Club we wrote about the Longest flight with only one stopover operated with a single-aisle aircraft: the Prague-Sanya (in southwest China) of Kazakhstan's Scat Airlines. Fourteen hours (technical stopover at Bishek in Kyrgyzstan) all on a Boeing 737 MAX 9.
And from TFC's social community comes the report of Matteo V. who 'scouted' an (almost) round-the-world (let's say 3/4 of a round-the-world) trip that can be done all with United Airlines flying only on the Boeing 737, starting from Ulan Bator in Mongolia and arriving in Glasgow in Scotland (or even in the opposite direction).
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Since some of the routes (namely the Ulan Bator-Tokyo and Newark-Glasgow) are seasonal only, the full itinerary will be available starting next May 8, when United will reactivate its daily connection between its main hub on the U.S. East Coast and Scotland's most populous city.
In all, we are talking about 38 hours and 30 minutes of flight time, according to the flight schedules posted on the American airline's website, excluding stopovers. And the 'zingarata' also includes one of the 'holy grails' of every airplane enthusiast, namely 'island hopping' between the Pacific islets in the stretch between Guam and Honolulu.
But let's go in order and We place our ideal passenger at Ulan Bator's Chingghis Khaan Airport, capital of Mongolia, a destination that United added to its network just last Summer 2025 and intends to offer again starting next May 1. From there, at 9:55 a.m., United flight UA 6, operated by a Boeing 737-800, takes off for Tokyo Narita, where it lands 4 hours and 50 minutes later, at 3:45 p.m. (crossing a time zone).
From the Japanese capital, we continue in the direction of Guam, which is U.S. territory and home to one of the largest 'overseas' bases of the U.S. military. To the Pacific island United flies four times a day, by Both airports in the Japanese capital: three from Narita and one from Haneda, also with Boeing 737-800. From Narita it takes off at 11 a.m. (UA 827), 4:30 p.m. (UA 865) and 5 p.m. (UA 197), and from Haneda at 11:35 p.m. (UA 848). The flight time is 3 hours and 45 minutes. Again, a time zone is crossed, meaning that Guam is 'one hour ahead' of Tokyo.
From the Pacific Island begins one of the most fascinating routes, for those who are aviation enthusiasts. Sure, Guam is connected to the West Coast of the United States by United with the Boeing 777. But you can also cross the entire, majestic and enormous Pacific Ocean with the 737 by doing so-called 'United island hopping,' which touches a series of small islands scattered between Guam and Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands. The flight number is always the same (UA 155), although there are actually as many as six flights.
We take off from Guam at 7:55 a.m. aboard a 737-800 and the first stop, after a 1 hour and 45 minute flight, is Chuuk, which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. From there, we start again 10:30 a.m. For Pohnpei in the Caroline Islands (also Micronesia). where you land 1 hour and 15 minutes later, even though the local time marks 12:45 p.m. because you pass another time slot. At 1:30 p.m., the 737-800 takes to the skies again to Kosrae (another of Micronesia's four states)., which he reaches after another hour and 15 minutes.
The next stop is Kwajalein, which is part of the Marshall Islands. and reached by leaving Kosrae at 3:25 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. after another hour and 15 minutes (and crossing another time slot). From there we proceed at 6:20 p.m. to Majuro, which is the capital of the Marshall Islands and home to a U.S. Navy base.
At 8:15 p.m. the 737-800, well supplied with fuel, redecks for the longest leg of 'island hopping,' which takes him after a 4-hour, 20-minute flight to Honolulu, where it lands in the middle of the night at 2:55 a.m.
From Hawaii to the continental U.S., the aircraft most commonly used by U.S. airlines are the Boeing 777, the 757 and the Airbus A321neo. But the 737 MAX comfortably makes it across that arm of the ocean, thanks to its ETOPS (Extended Twin Engine Operations) Certification. by 180 minutes, which allows him to fly over water assuming he is within three hours of the nearest airport.
Honolulu and San Francisco are separated by 5.20 hours of flight time, according to United's timetable. Which operates two of its four flights on that route with the Boeing 737 MAX 9: these are UA373 taking off from Honolulu at 7 a.m. and landing in SFO at 3:20 p.m. and UA 1176 leaving at 9:30 a.m. and landing in California at 5:50 p.m. The time zones crossed in this case are three.
The global 737 tour continues at that point heading east toward Denver: between United's two hubs there are nine daily flights, three of which are operated with the 'baby' Boeing. To Colorado we depart at 6:30 a.m. with UA 1315 (737 MAX 8) arriving at 10:10 a.m., at 12:45 p.m. with UA 2121 (737-800) arriving at 4:30 p.m., and at 8:50 p.m. with UA 301 (737 MAX 9) landing at 00:40 a.m. The flight time is 2 hours and 50 minutes, with a time zone crossing.
From Colorado to United's main hub on the U.S. East Coast, you're spoiled for choice if you want to fly the 737, since as many as eight of the 11 daily connections between Denver and Newark are operated with that machine. To be precise, seven with the 737-800 and one with the 737 MAX 9.
And we have arrived at the last leg of the (almost) round-the-world 737: from Newark to Glasgow. The seasonal connection will be back in operation starting May 8 with a MAX 8 (flight UA 230) that will take 6 hours 55 minutes to reach Scotland.
The travel itinerary would not be complete without some details about the 737s deployed by United between Ulan Bator and Glasgow: the world's largest airline by number of aircraft in its fleet (1,059) has configured its 737-800s and MAX 8s with 16 seats in First/Business (2-2) and 150 in Economy (3-3), while the MAX 9 has 20 seats in Business/First (2-2) and 159 in Economy (3-3).
