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Window Seat

Charlotte → Los Angeles

CLT–LAX · Charlotte Douglas 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 San Gorgonio Mountain, 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.

CLT 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.CLTLAXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 40 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. Blue Ridge Mountains

    RightEarly27 mi off the route

    Blue Ridge Mountains is about 27 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Great Smoky Mountains

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

    Great Smoky Mountains passes almost directly beneath early in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  3. Sandia Mountains

    LeftThree quarters29 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Sandia Mountains, about 29 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Petrified Forest

    LeftThree quarters14 mi off the route

    Petrified Forest is about 14 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. Painted Desert

    RightThree quarters17 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Painted Desert sits roughly 17 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Meteor Crater

    Either sideThree quarters7 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  7. San Francisco Peaks

    RightThree quarters20 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 20 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  8. Sedona red rocks

    LeftThree quarters12 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Sedona red rocks sits roughly 12 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftNear the end30 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for San Jacinto Peak, about 30 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. San Gorgonio Mountain

    LeftNear the end9 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 9 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Good 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

2,120 mi
Great-circle distance
279°
Course out of CLT
257°
Course into LAX
8
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 → CharlotteRight 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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