Which routes do you think made the cut?

Summary

  • Miami to Seattle is the lower 48’s longest domestic airport pair, with three airlines operating non-stop.
  • They include Delta, which will begin the route in December.
  • Breeze Airways appears once from Providence to Los Angeles.

For an obvious reason, discussing the USA’s longest non-stop domestic routes inevitably involves Hawaii and Alaska. But what about the longest services that operate exclusively within the lower 48 or contiguous states? Surprisingly, these are rarely examined.

The lower 48’s longest domestic flights

The following table summarizes them. The longest 10 are so similar in distance that just 118 nautical miles (219 km) separate them. If only the top six are considered, the difference falls to just 31 nautical miles (57 km).

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Please note the following caveats:

  • The data is only for June to December; things may differ at other times.
  • As usual with my work, the distance is the Great Circle, with real-world operations likely to change the order, especially given the very similar distances between the airport pairs.
  • The order would be somewhat different if maximum block times were used instead.
  • ‘Up to’ refers to the frequency at any point in the analyzed seven months, but often, of course, in the peak summer or December.
  • The information is as of June 18 and is subject to change, especially later in the year.
US longest lower 48 domestic routes June-December 2024

Image: GCMap

Nautical miles (km)

Airport pair

Served by these airlines (June-December)*

2,367 (4,384)

Miami-Seattle

American (up to twice daily A321neo); Alaska Airlines (up to twice daily 737-900ER/737 MAX 9); Delta (brand-new route; daily from December 21; A321neo)

2,361 (4,373)

Fort Lauderdale-Seattle

Alaska Airlines (up to twice daily 737 MAX 9/737-900ER/737-800); Delta (daily A321neo)

2,350 (4,352)

Boston-San Francisco

Alaska Airlines (up to double daily 737-800/737-900ER/737 MAX 9); Delta (up to three daily A321neo); JetBlue (up to six daily A321ceo/A321neo); United (up to six daily 757-200/737 MAX 8/737 MAX 9)

2,346 (4,345)

Miami-Portland (Oregon)

American (daily A321neo/737 MAX 8); Alaska Airlines (winter seasonal from November 22; 737-900ER)

2,341 (4,335)

Fort Lauderdale-Portland (Oregon)

Alaska Airlines (winter seasonal from November 22; daily 737-900ER)

2,336 (4,327)

Boston-San Jose

JetBlue (summer seasonal; daily A220-300)

2,291 (4,242)

Boston-Sacramento

JetBlue (summer seasonal; daily A320)

2,280 (4,222)

Fort Myers-Seattle

Alaska Airlines (Saturday/Sunday 737-900ER)

2,269 (4,202)

Boston-Los Angeles

American (up to four daily A321 Transcontinental), Delta (up to four daily 757-200), JetBlue (up to six daily A321ceo/A321neo); Spirit (August 15-September 3 only; daily A320neo), United (up to three daily 757-200/737 MAX 9)

2,249 (4,165)

Providence-Los Angeles

Breeze (summer seasonal; three weekly A220-300)

* As of June 18. Dates refer to the airport pair direction stated in the second column

Notice the sole entry of Breeze

While ‘only’ the 10th longest lower 48 airport pair, Providence-Los Angeles has been in Breeze’s network since May 2023. Of course, it is the airline’s longest route. In 2024, based on departures from Rhode Island, it operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays between June 13 and September 1.

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Even more notable, it exclusively operates overnight back to Providence, benefiting from the long stage length and three timezone changes. Most of the time, MX773 departs from Los Angeles at 23:00 and arrives at 07:46+1. Networkwide, Cirium data for June to December shows that just 1 out of 100 departures by Breeze operates overnight.

What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments section.

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