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Austin → San Francisco

AUS–SFO · Austin–Bergstrom International Airport to San Francisco International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The right edges it, mostly on San Francisco Peaks, but the left is not a bad seat.

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 SFO: 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.AUSSFOLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 53 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. Petrified Forest

    RightHalfway30 mi off the route

    Petrified Forest is about 30 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  2. Meteor Crater

    Either sideHalfway2 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

  3. Sedona red rocks

    LeftHalfway23 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Sedona red rocks, about 23 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. San Francisco Peaks

    RightHalfway11 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 11 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Grand Canyon

    RightThree quarters53 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Grand Canyon sits roughly 53 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Lake Mead

    RightThree quarters23 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Lake Mead, about 23 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Death Valley

    Either sideThree quarters3 mi off the route

    Death Valley passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  8. Mount Whitney

    LeftThree quarters16 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount Whitney sits roughly 16 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. San Francisco Bay

    Either sideNear the end4 mi off the route

    San Francisco Bay sits close enough to SFO that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

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

1,502 mi
Great-circle distance
297°
Course out of AUS
283°
Course into SFO
6
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?

San Francisco → AustinLeft 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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