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Window Seat

Houston → Portland

IAH–PDX · George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Portland 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 Great Salt Lake, 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.

IAH 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.IAHPDXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 62 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. Palo Duro Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in7 mi off the route

    Palo Duro Canyon passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  2. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightHalfway12 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Sangre de Cristo Mountains sits roughly 12 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Great Sand Dunes

    RightHalfway20 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Great Sand Dunes, about 20 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. San Juan Mountains

    LeftHalfway27 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains is about 27 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Uinta Mountains

    RightThree quarters33 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Uinta Mountains sits roughly 33 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Wasatch Range

    LeftThree quarters23 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Wasatch Range, about 23 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Great Salt Lake

    LeftThree quarters10 mi off the route

    Great Salt Lake is about 10 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Strong candidate

  8. Mount Jefferson

    LeftNear the end39 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Jefferson sits roughly 39 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Mount Hood

    Either sideNear the end7 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

  10. Columbia River Gorge

    RightNear the end25 mi off the route

    Whether Columbia River Gorge appears comes down to how you come into PDX, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  11. Mount Adams

    RightNear the end62 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Adams sits roughly 62 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

1,823 mi
Great-circle distance
314°
Course out of IAH
297°
Course into PDX
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?

Portland → HoustonRight 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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