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Austin → Oakland

AUS–OAK · Austin–Bergstrom International Airport to Oakland International Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

AUS to OAK: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.AUSOAKLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 47 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. Meteor Crater

    Either sideHalfway3 mi off the route

    Meteor Crater passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  2. San Francisco Peaks

    Either sideHalfway6 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  3. Lake Mead

    RightThree quarters17 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Lake Mead, about 17 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Death Valley

    LeftThree quarters10 mi off the route

    Death Valley is about 10 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  5. San Francisco Bay

    Either sideNear the end5 mi off the route

    Whether San Francisco Bay appears comes down to how you come into OAK, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

Show 5 more along the way (Petrified Forest, Sedona red rocks, Grand Canyon, Mount Whitney, Half Dome)

Further off the route, closer to an airport, or both. Still in flight order, still numbered to match the diagram.

  1. Petrified Forest

    RightHalfway25 mi off the route

    Petrified Forest is about 25 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  2. Sedona red rocks

    LeftHalfway28 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Sedona red rocks, about 28 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    RightThree quarters47 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Grand Canyon sits roughly 47 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  4. Mount Whitney

    LeftThree quarters23 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount Whitney sits roughly 23 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  5. Half Dome

    RightNear the end37 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Half Dome, about 37 miles out.

    Distant possibility

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

1,495 mi
Great-circle distance
7
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Oakland → AustinEither side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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