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Seattle → San Antonio

SEA–SAT · Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to San Antonio International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Mount Rainier 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.

SEA to SAT: 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.SEASATLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 67 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

    RightEarly18 mi off the route

    Mount Rainier is about 18 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Strong candidate

  2. Mount St. Helens

    RightEarly67 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 67 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Adams

    RightEarly47 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mount Adams, about 47 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Wallowa Mountains

    LeftQuarter in22 mi off the route

    Wallowa Mountains is about 22 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Sawtooth Range

    LeftQuarter in30 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Sawtooth Range sits roughly 30 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Great Salt Lake

    RightHalfway32 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Great Salt Lake, about 32 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Wasatch Range

    RightHalfway35 mi off the route

    Wasatch Range is about 35 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  8. Uinta Mountains

    LeftHalfway27 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Uinta Mountains sits roughly 27 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. San Juan Mountains

    Either sideHalfway5 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  10. Rio Grande Gorge

    Either sideThree quarters2 mi off the route

    Rio Grande Gorge passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, 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

1,774 mi
Great-circle distance
126°
Course out of SEA
141°
Course into SAT
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?

San Antonio → 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.

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