Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Seattle → Los Angeles

SEA–LAX · Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Los Angeles 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 Mount St. Helens, 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.

SEA to LAX: 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.SEALAXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789101112
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 93 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. Mount Rainier

    LeftEarly16 mi off the route

    Mount Rainier is about 16 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Strong candidate

  2. Mount St. Helens

    RightEarly15 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 15 miles to the right.

    Strong candidate

  3. Mount Adams

    LeftEarly18 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Mount Adams, about 18 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Columbia River Gorge

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

    Columbia River Gorge passes almost directly beneath early in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Hood

    Either sideQuarter in5 mi off the route

    Mount Hood 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

  6. Mount Jefferson

    RightQuarter in21 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Jefferson, about 21 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Three Sisters

    RightQuarter in29 mi off the route

    Three Sisters is about 29 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  8. Mount Shasta

    RightHalfway93 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Shasta sits roughly 93 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Lake Tahoe

    RightThree quarters17 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Lake Tahoe, about 17 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Mono Lake

    LeftThree quarters22 mi off the route

    Mono Lake is about 22 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  11. Half Dome

    RightThree quarters10 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Half Dome sits roughly 10 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  12. Mount Whitney

    LeftThree quarters41 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Mount Whitney, about 41 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

955 mi
Great-circle distance
166°
Course out of SEA
169°
Course into LAX
10
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?

Los Angeles → SeattleLeft 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