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Window Seat

New Orleans → Portland

MSY–PDX · Louis Armstrong New Orleans International 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 Pikes Peak, 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.

MSY 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.MSYPDXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789101112
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 96 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. Pikes Peak

    LeftHalfway15 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak is about 15 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  2. Mount Elbert

    LeftHalfway38 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Elbert sits roughly 38 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Longs Peak

    RightHalfway52 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Longs Peak, about 52 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Uinta Mountains

    LeftThree quarters44 mi off the route

    Uinta Mountains is about 44 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. Bear Lake

    Either sideThree quarters7 mi off the route

    Bear Lake passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  6. Sawtooth Range

    RightThree quarters43 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Sawtooth Range, about 43 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Mount Jefferson

    LeftNear the end45 mi off the route

    Mount Jefferson is about 45 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. Mount Hood

    Either sideNear the end2 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

  9. Mount Adams

    RightNear the end59 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Adams, about 59 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Columbia River Gorge

    RightNear the end21 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 Rainier

    RightNear the end96 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Rainier sits roughly 96 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  12. Mount St. Helens

    RightNear the end47 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount St. Helens, about 47 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

2,047 mi
Great-circle distance
311°
Course out of MSY
291°
Course into PDX
9
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 → New OrleansRight 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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