PORTLAND, Maine —
The number of direct flights between the Portland International Jetport and California will significantly expand next summer.
The Jetport announced on Monday that United Airlines is adding another 20 roundtrip transcontinental flights for the summer of 2027, equating to a 65% increase over the options this past summer.
In January of 2026, United first announced nonstop flights from Portland to both Los Angeles and San Francisco with flights on Saturdays starting on June 27.
These flights were the first time there has been direct commercial service between Maine and California. These flights currently use Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which can carry up to 178 passengers.
Initially, the flights were scheduled for only 13 weeks in 2026, but demand was so high that an extra five weeks were added for flights between Portland and San Francisco.
On Monday, jetport officials said the seasonal flights on Saturdays to San Francisco will resume on May 8, 2027, and then flights on Wednesdays will be added on June 23, 2027.
Saturday flights to Los Angeles will resume on June 26, 2027 and United will also have six Wednesday flights between Portland and Los Angeles during the peak summer season.
“United made history earlier this year when they flew our first transcontinental flights,” said Paul Bradbury, Airport Director. “The demand exceeded our expectations and we are now seeing United at 65% more flights to California for Summer 2027. We are grateful to United for the continued investment in the Portland market and look forward to the additional flights to California.”
United is increasing service between Portland and San Francisco to 32 flights, a 77% increase over summer 2026. Service between Portland and Los Angeles is increasing to 19 flights, a 46% increase over summer 2026.
“These flights make it very easy to move between the East Coast and West Coast,” said Zach Sundquist, Assistant Airport Director. “United’s hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles allow for one-stop connections to many Pacific Rim destinations, and with Wednesday service being introduced, these options become even more appealing to local businesses with connections to Asia.”
The addition of the service to California in 2026 means there is now nonstop service from Portland to all seven of United’s domestic hubs, either seasonally or year-round, including Saturday service to Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas and daily services to Chicago O’Hare, Denver, New York City/Newark, and Washington DC Dulles.
United has the second-most non-stop destination options from Portland, behind only Breeze Airways. Breeze recently announced its 12th nonstop option from Portland, with service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, coming in May of 2027.
American Airlines has six nonstop destinations from Portland, Delta Air Lines has five, Southwest Airlines has four, JetBlue Airways has three and Sun Country Airlines has one.