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Window Seat

Detroit → Santa Ana

DTW–SNA · Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to John Wayne 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.

DTW to SNA: 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.DTWSNALEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789101112
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 51 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. Chicago skyline

    Either sideEarly6 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  2. Pikes Peak

    RightHalfway35 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Pikes Peak sits roughly 35 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Great Sand Dunes

    LeftThree quarters28 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Great Sand Dunes, about 28 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    LeftThree quarters39 mi off the route

    Sangre de Cristo Mountains is about 39 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. San Juan Mountains

    RightThree quarters32 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 32 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Shiprock

    LeftThree quarters29 mi off the route

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

    Distant possibility

  7. Monument Valley

    RightThree quarters17 mi off the route

    Monument Valley is about 17 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  8. Lake Powell

    RightThree quarters45 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Lake Powell sits roughly 45 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Grand Canyon

    Either sideThree quarters6 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  10. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftThree quarters51 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 51 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  11. San Gorgonio Mountain

    Either sideNear the end2 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  12. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftNear the end23 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for San Jacinto Peak, about 23 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

1,956 mi
Great-circle distance
264°
Course out of DTW
242°
Course into SNA
9
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?

Santa Ana → DetroitEither 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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