Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Los Angeles → Pittsburgh

LAX–PIT · Los Angeles International Airport to Pittsburgh International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Sangre de Cristo Mountains leads it, with 4 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.

LAX to PIT: 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.LAXPITLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 54 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 Gorgonio Mountain

    RightEarly26 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 26 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. San Jacinto Peak

    RightEarly47 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, San Jacinto Peak sits roughly 47 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in6 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 in51 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 51 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Lake Powell

    LeftQuarter in49 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Lake Powell sits roughly 49 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Monument Valley

    LeftQuarter in27 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Monument Valley, about 27 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Shiprock

    RightQuarter in15 mi off the route

    Shiprock is about 15 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  8. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in54 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 54 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightHalfway10 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 10 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Great Sand Dunes

    Either sideHalfway1 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, 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

2,131 mi
Great-circle distance
66°
Course out of LAX
90°
Course into PIT
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?

Pittsburgh → 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.

Keep nerding