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Window Seat

Las Vegas → Louisville

LAS–SDF · Harry Reid International Airport to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Lake Powell leads it, with 3 more on the same side.

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.

LAS to SDF: 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.LASSDFLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 47 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. Lake Mead

    Either sideEarly1 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  2. Grand Canyon

    RightEarly38 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Grand Canyon sits roughly 38 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Lake Powell

    LeftEarly12 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Lake Powell, about 12 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Monument Valley

    Either sideQuarter in0 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  5. Shiprock

    RightQuarter in33 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Shiprock sits roughly 33 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in47 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for San Juan Mountains, about 47 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Great Sand Dunes

    LeftQuarter in9 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes is about 9 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  8. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    Either sideQuarter in2 mi off the route

    Sangre de Cristo Mountains 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

  9. Gateway Arch

    LeftNear the end20 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Gateway Arch, about 20 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

1,620 mi
Great-circle distance
76°
Course out of LAS
94°
Course into SDF
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?

Louisville → Las VegasRight 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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