United Takes Delivery of First Boeing 737 MAX 9
United's long-haul aircraft are typically celebrated with far more fanfare, from delivery to retirement, but the carrier's Boeing 737s operate more daily flights than all of UA's wide-body planes combined. Today marks a major milestone when it comes to United's short- and medium-haul flights, with delivery of the very first 737 MAX 9 from Boeing.

I had a chance to check out the new aircraft ahead of its delivery. While not much has changed inside from the carrier's latest 737-900ERs, the MAX 9 has an entirely new livery, plus a unique engine housing design.

The carrier is expecting to add two more MAX 9s to its fleet this month, with a total of 10 planes flying by the end of the year. Although UA's taking delivery of its first plane today, it won't enter service until June 7, at which point it'll operate the following flights:
Origin | Destination | Departure Time | Arrival Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Houston (IAH) | Orlando (MCO) | 7:35 am | 10:38 am |
Houston (IAH) | Austin (AUS) | 10:25 am | 11:15 am |
Houston (IAH) | Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) | 2:20 pm | 5:52 pm |
Houston (IAH) | Anchorage (ANC) | 2:40 pm | 6:58 pm |
Houston (IAH) | Orlando (MCO) | 2:50 pm | 6:19 pm |
Houston (IAH) | San Diego (SAN) | 9:50 pm | 10:52 pm |
Then on June 29 the airline planes to add the MAX 9 to a handful of additional routes:
Origin | Destination | Departure Time | Arrival Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Houston (IAH) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 7:45 am | 9:23 am |
Houston (IAH) | Tampa (TPA) | 7:50 am | 10:59 am |
Houston (IAH) | Tampa (TPA) | 2:50 pm | 6:02 pm |
Houston (IAH) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 9:35 pm | 10:59 pm |
Houston (IAH) | Sacramento (SMF) | 9:50 pm | 11:27 pm |
Los Angeles (LAX) | Houston (IAH) | 1:00 am | 6:14 am |
Los Angeles (LAX) | Houston (IAH) | 8:15 am | 1:37 pm |
Los Angeles (LAX) | Honolulu (HNL) | 11:05 am | 2:00 pm |
Later in the year, you can expect to find the MAX 9 on even more routes throughout North America, as United takes delivery of additional aircraft.
For more on United's 737 MAX, see:
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