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Philadelphia → San Francisco

PHL–SFO · Philadelphia International Airport to San Francisco 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 Longs 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.

PHL to SFO: 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.PHLSFOLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 57 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. Longs Peak

    LeftThree quarters31 mi off the route

    Longs Peak is about 31 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  2. Uinta Mountains

    RightThree quarters46 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Uinta Mountains sits roughly 46 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Wasatch Range

    RightThree quarters40 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Wasatch Range, about 40 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Mono Lake

    LeftNear the end29 mi off the route

    Mono Lake is about 29 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  5. Lake Tahoe

    RightNear the end57 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Lake Tahoe sits roughly 57 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Half Dome

    LeftNear the end39 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Half Dome, about 39 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. San Francisco Bay

    Either sideNear the end0 mi off the route

    San Francisco Bay sits close enough to SFO that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

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

2,515 mi
Great-circle distance
282°
Course out of PHL
251°
Course into SFO
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?

San Francisco → PhiladelphiaRight 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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