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Washington → Anchorage

IAD–ANC · Washington Dulles International Airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage 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 the Chugach Mountains, 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.

IAD to ANC: 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.IADANCLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 80 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 Logan

    LeftNear the end61 mi off the route

    Mount Logan is about 61 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount Saint Elias

    LeftNear the end80 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Saint Elias sits roughly 80 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Prince William Sound

    LeftNear the end49 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Prince William Sound, about 49 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. the Chugach Mountains

    RightNear the end9 mi off the route

    the Chugach Mountains is about 9 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Good possibility

  5. Turnagain Arm

    LeftNear the end14 mi off the route

    Turnagain Arm sits close enough to ANC that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

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

3,348 mi
Great-circle distance
322°
Course out of IAD
262°
Course into ANC
4
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?

Anchorage → WashingtonLeft 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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