Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Newark → Santa Ana

EWR–SNA · Newark Liberty International 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.

EWR 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.EWRSNALEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 45 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. Great Sand Dunes

    RightThree quarters14 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes is about 14 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  2. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    Either sideThree quarters3 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  3. Shiprock

    Either sideThree quarters3 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  4. Canyon de Chelly

    LeftThree quarters20 mi off the route

    Canyon de Chelly is about 20 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. Monument Valley

    RightThree quarters45 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Monument Valley sits roughly 45 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftThree quarters30 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for San Francisco Peaks, about 30 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Grand Canyon

    RightThree quarters27 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon is about 27 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  8. 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

  9. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftNear the end19 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for San Jacinto Peak, about 19 miles out.

    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

2,428 mi
Great-circle distance
273°
Course out of EWR
246°
Course into SNA
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?

Santa Ana → NewarkEither 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.

Keep nerding