Boeing 737 MAX 8
Narrow-body jet
- Passengers flown a year
- 106.8M
- 3rd-most common US type
- Airframes in US fleets
- 526
- US operators
- 4
- Airports served
- 171
- Countries
- 32
- Load factor
- 80.0%
Where the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flies
Filed traffic dataThe operators table below counts the registered Boeing 737 MAX 8 airframes each airline owns (US DOT Form 41). These figures are how much the type actually flew — departures, seats, and passengers filed with US DOT T-100 over the trailing 12 months, not fleet size.
Departures flown
808,291
May 2026
Seats flown
139,513,745
Passengers
106.8M
Load factor
80.0%
RPM ÷ ASM
Block hours
2,088,863
Busiest Boeing 737 MAX 8 routes
The Boeing 737 MAX 8's busiest US routes over the trailing 12 months, by departures.
Honolulu, Oahu – Kahului (HNL–OGG)
5,629 departures · 522,624 passengers · 101 mi
53.0%
Load
4,582 departures · 683,565 passengers · 1,620 mi
88.8%
Load
Dallas-Fort Worth – Santa Ana (DFW–SNA)
4,004 departures · 582,170 passengers · 1,205 mi
84.5%
Load
Honolulu, Oahu – Hilo (HNL–ITO)
3,657 departures · 410,789 passengers · 216 mi
64.2%
Load
3,526 departures · 465,657 passengers · 602 mi
75.9%
Load
Honolulu, Oahu – Lihue, Kauai (HNL–LIH)
3,484 departures · 347,981 passengers · 102 mi
57.1%
Load
Honolulu, Oahu – Kailua-Kona (HNL–KOA)
3,452 departures · 323,253 passengers · 163 mi
53.5%
Load
3,446 departures · 511,517 passengers · 1,726 mi
87.4%
Load
3,171 departures · 418,899 passengers · 628 mi
76.1%
Load
3,014 departures · 408,498 passengers · 1,067 mi
77.5%
Load
3,002 departures · 353,966 passengers · 255 mi
67.5%
Load
2,717 departures · 381,346 passengers · 407 mi
80.2%
Load
2,684 departures · 394,600 passengers · 1,444 mi
84.0%
Load
Las Vegas – Sacramento (LAS–SMF)
2,679 departures · 358,790 passengers · 397 mi
76.5%
Load
Mexico City – Miami (MEX–MIA)
2,675 departures · 356,108 passengers · 1,276 mi
78.5%
Load
The longest and shortest Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights
The two ends of the type's working envelope, from the routes it actually flew — not what the airframe is certified to do.
Longest route flown
3,622 mi
Reykjavík – Seattle (KEF–SEA)
17m block · 191 departures · 72% load
Flown by Icelandair. A long leg for a narrow-body twin — far enough from a diversion airport that the type carries an ETOPS rating.
Shortest route flown
73 mi
Colorado Springs – Denver (COS–DEN)
46m block · 692 departures · 71% load
Flown by Southwest Airlines. About 46m of block time, most of it connecting traffic feeding the hub.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment. Data through May 2026.
Airports the Boeing 737 MAX 8 serves
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 serves 171 US airports across 32 countries. The busiest, by departures:
- DEN
48,183 departures · 99 routes · 8 operators
6.2%
Share
- LAS
38,770 departures · 81 routes · 8 operators
5.0%
Share
- PHX
34,758 departures · 67 routes · 6 operators
4.5%
Share
- MIA
27,783 departures · 81 routes · 8 operators
3.6%
Share
- BWI
26,802 departures · 66 routes · 7 operators
3.5%
Share
- MDW
26,275 departures · 69 routes · 1 operator
3.4%
Share
- BNA
23,808 departures · 75 routes · 7 operators
3.1%
Share
- MCO
23,505 departures · 64 routes · 10 operators
3.0%
Share
- DAL
23,083 departures · 58 routes · 1 operator
3.0%
Share
- EWR
20,837 departures · 56 routes · 7 operators
2.7%
Share
Who flies the Boeing 737 MAX 8
Two questions in one table. Airframes is what each carrier reported owning in its US DOT fleet filing; seats flown is how much of the type it actually operated. They can rank differently, and the gap is the interesting part.
| Operator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest AirlinesWN | 300 | 87.7M | 62.9% | 3.8 yr |
| United AirlinesUA | 123 | 23.9M | 17.1% | 3.2 yr |
| American AirlinesAA | 89 | 18.3M | 13.1% | 4.4 yr |
| Alaska AirlinesAS | 14 | 2M | 1.4% | 1.4 yr |
Airframes are the latest Form 41 filing; seats flown and share are US DOT T-100 for the type's most-flown operators — a dash means a carrier isn't among them (a freighter operator, or one that flies fewer).
How old is the US Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet?
Age is measured from each airframe's delivery date — the FAA airworthiness date where available, otherwise the manufacturer's. Bars share a fixed scale across every fleet page, so two carriers can be compared directly.
Monthly Boeing 737 MAX 8 capacity
How common is the Boeing 737 MAX 8?
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 makes up 6.1% of all tracked US airline aircraft — the 3rd-most common type in service.
Share of all tracked US airline aircraft · top 12 types shown · 119 others hold the remaining 37.6% · Boeing 737 MAX 8 is the ringed slice at 6.1%
- 1
872 aircraft
10.0%
Share
- 2
708 aircraft
8.1%
Share
- 3
Boeing 737 MAX 8this type
526 aircraft
6.1%
Share
- 4
481 aircraft
5.5%
Share
- 5
470 aircraft
5.4%
Share
Frequently asked
How many Boeing 737 MAX 8 are in US airline fleets?
US carriers operate about 526 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft across 4 airlines, 526 of them in service.
Which airline operates the most Boeing 737 MAX 8?
Southwest Airlines operates the largest US Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet, with about 300 aircraft.
What is the busiest Boeing 737 MAX 8 route?
The busiest US route flown by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is HNL–OGG, with about 5,629 departures over the trailing 12 months.
Which airline flies the Boeing 737 MAX 8 the most?
Southwest Airlines flies the most Boeing 737 MAX 8 capacity in US service, with about 87.7M seats flown over the trailing 12 months.
How many passengers does the Boeing 737 MAX 8 carry?
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 carried about 106.8M passengers on US routes over the trailing 12 months.
What is the longest Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight?
The longest US route flown by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is KEF–SEA, about 3,622 miles, flown by Icelandair.
How many airports does the Boeing 737 MAX 8 serve?
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 serves about 171 US airports across 32 countries, led by Denver (DEN).
How old is the average Boeing 737 MAX 8?
The US Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet averages about 3.7 yr.
How common is the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in US fleets?
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 is the 3rd-most common aircraft type in tracked US airline fleets, by number of aircraft.
Trip reports on YouTube
Fliers post trip reports from Boeing 737 MAX 8 flights to YouTube. These three were matched automatically from public YouTube listings — The Frequent Flier does not host, review, or endorse them.
The Layover Aviation
flydubai Business Class | Dubai to Riyadh | flydubai Boeing 737 Max 8 | Trip Report
23:43 · Sep 2025
The Flip Flop Traveller
Pleasantly Surprised on AEROMEXICO ✦ 737 MAX 8 Business Class Trip Report ✦ New York to Mexico City
17:10 · Dec 2025
Simply Aviation
TRIPREPORT | Turkish Airlines (ECONOMY) | Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Istanbul - Vienna
13:02 · Mar 2022
Source: YouTube. Titles, thumbnails, and channel names come from YouTube. Playing a video loads the YouTube player, and using it means you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service; the Google Privacy Policy applies.