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Window Seat

Dallas → Portland

DAL–PDX · Dallas Love Field to Portland 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 Mount Elbert, 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.

DAL to PDX: 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.DALPDXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011121314
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 96 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. Mount Elbert

    RightHalfway16 mi off the route

    Mount Elbert is about 16 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  2. Maroon Bells

    Either sideHalfway3 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  3. Uinta Mountains

    Either sideHalfway3 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  4. Mount Hood

    Either sideNear the end4 mi off the route

    Mount Hood passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

Show 10 more along the way (Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Great Sand Dunes, Pikes Peak, Wasatch Range, Great Salt Lake, Mount Jefferson, Columbia River Gorge, Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens)

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

  1. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    LeftHalfway42 mi off the route

    Sangre de Cristo Mountains is about 42 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  2. Great Sand Dunes

    LeftHalfway34 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Great Sand Dunes sits roughly 34 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Pikes Peak

    RightHalfway44 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Pikes Peak, about 44 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Wasatch Range

    LeftHalfway57 mi off the route

    Wasatch Range is about 57 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  5. Great Salt Lake

    LeftThree quarters40 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Great Salt Lake sits roughly 40 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mount Jefferson

    LeftNear the end42 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Mount Jefferson, about 42 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Columbia River Gorge

    RightNear the end23 mi off the route

    Columbia River Gorge sits close enough to PDX that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  8. Mount Adams

    RightNear the end61 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Adams, about 61 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  9. Mount Rainier

    RightNear the end96 mi off the route

    Mount Rainier is about 96 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  10. Mount St. Helens

    RightNear the end47 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 47 miles to the right.

    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

1,624 mi
Great-circle distance
10
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?

Portland → DallasLeft 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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