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Window Seat

San Diego → Seattle

SAN–SEA · San Diego International Airport to Seattle–Tacoma 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 Mount Hood, 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.

SAN to SEA: 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.SANSEALEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789101112
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. San Jacinto Peak

    RightEarly46 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak is about 46 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. San Gorgonio Mountain

    RightEarly42 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, San Gorgonio Mountain sits roughly 42 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Whitney

    Either sideQuarter in2 mi off the route

    Mount Whitney 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. Mono Lake

    LeftHalfway12 mi off the route

    Mono Lake is about 12 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Lake Tahoe

    LeftHalfway47 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Lake Tahoe sits roughly 47 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Three Sisters

    LeftThree quarters40 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Three Sisters, about 40 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Mount Jefferson

    LeftThree quarters31 mi off the route

    Mount Jefferson is about 31 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  8. Mount Hood

    LeftNear the end12 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Hood sits roughly 12 miles to the left.

    Strong candidate

  9. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftNear the end10 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Columbia River Gorge, about 10 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Mount Adams

    RightNear the end13 mi off the route

    Mount Adams is about 13 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Good possibility

  11. Mount St. Helens

    LeftNear the end19 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 19 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  12. Mount Rainier

    RightNear the end13 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Rainier, about 13 miles out.

    Strong candidate

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

1,051 mi
Great-circle distance
347°
Course out of SAN
343°
Course into SEA
11
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?

Seattle → San DiegoRight 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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