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Window Seat

Los Angeles → Newark

LAX–EWR · Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty 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 Sangre de Cristo 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.

LAX to EWR: 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.LAXEWRLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 55 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. San Jacinto Peak

    RightEarly48 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak is about 48 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. San Gorgonio Mountain

    RightEarly27 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, San Gorgonio Mountain sits roughly 27 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in2 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon 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

  4. San Francisco Peaks

    RightQuarter in55 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 55 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Lake Powell

    LeftQuarter in44 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Lake Powell sits roughly 44 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Monument Valley

    LeftQuarter in21 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Monument Valley, about 21 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Shiprock

    RightQuarter in21 mi off the route

    Shiprock is about 21 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in47 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 47 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightQuarter in18 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 18 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Great Sand Dunes

    Either sideQuarter in7 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes 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

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

2,449 mi
Great-circle distance
66°
Course out of LAX
94°
Course into EWR
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?

Newark → Los AngelesLeft 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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