PORTLAND, Maine —
The number of direct flights between Portland International Airport and California will increase significantly next summer.
The Jetport announced Monday that United Airlines is adding 20 additional round-trip transcontinental flights for summer 2027, equating to a 65% increase over last summer’s options.
In January 2026, United first announced nonstop flights from Portland to Los Angeles and San Francisco, with Saturday flights starting June 27.
These flights were the first time there was direct commercial service between Maine and California. These flights currently use Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which can carry up to 178 passengers.
Initially, flights were only scheduled for 13 weeks in 2026, but demand was so high that an additional five weeks were added for flights between Portland and San Francisco.
On Monday, international airport officials said seasonal Saturday flights to San Francisco would resume on May 8, 2027, and then Wednesday flights would be added on June 23, 2027.
Saturday flights to Los Angeles will resume on June 26, 2027, and United will also offer six Wednesday flights between Portland and Los Angeles during the peak summer season.
“United made history earlier this year by operating our first transcontinental flights,” said Paul Bradbury, airport director. “Demand has exceeded our expectations and we now see United offering 65% more flights to California for summer 2027. We are grateful to United for its 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 from summer 2026. Service between Portland and Los Angeles is increasing to 19 flights, a 46% increase from summer 2026.
“These flights make traveling between the East and West Coast much easier,” said Zach Sundquist, deputy airport director. “United’s hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles provide one-stop connections to many Pacific destinations, and with the introduction of Wednesday service, these options become even more attractive to local businesses with connections to Asia.”
The addition of service to California in 2026 means there is now nonstop service from Portland to United’s seven domestic hubs, seasonally or year-round, including Saturday service to Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, and daily service to Chicago O’Hare, Denver, New York City/Newark and Washington DC Dulles.
United offers the second most nonstop destination options from Portland, behind Breeze Airways. Breeze recently announced its 12th nonstop option from Portland, with service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, coming in May 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.
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