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Window Seat

Buffalo → Los Angeles

BUF–LAX · Buffalo Niagara International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport

Best bet

Left side

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

It is close. The left edges it, mostly on Grand Canyon, but the right 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.

BUF to LAX: 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.BUFLAXLEFT 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. Niagara Falls

    RightEarly11 mi off the route

    Niagara Falls sits close enough to BUF that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. Chicago skyline

    LeftQuarter in27 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Chicago skyline sits roughly 27 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Pikes Peak

    Either sideThree quarters2 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Mount Elbert

    RightThree quarters47 mi off the route

    Mount Elbert is about 47 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. San Juan Mountains

    Either sideThree quarters1 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  6. Monument Valley

    LeftThree quarters15 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Monument Valley, about 15 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Lake Powell

    RightThree quarters13 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 13 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  8. Grand Canyon

    LeftThree quarters25 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Grand Canyon sits roughly 25 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. Lake Mead

    RightNear the end39 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Lake Mead, about 39 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. San Gorgonio Mountain

    LeftNear the end33 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 33 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    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

2,213 mi
Great-circle distance
267°
Course out of BUF
242°
Course into LAX
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?

Los Angeles → BuffaloRight 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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