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Window Seat

San Francisco → Raleigh–Durham

SFO–RDU · San Francisco International Airport to Raleigh–Durham 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 Elbert, 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.

SFO to RDU: 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.SFORDULEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 56 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 Francisco Bay

    Either sideEarly1 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

  2. Half Dome

    RightEarly18 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Half Dome sits roughly 18 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Mono Lake

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Canyonlands

    RightQuarter in45 mi off the route

    Canyonlands is about 45 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Arches National Park

    Either sideQuarter in6 mi off the route

    Arches National Park passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  6. San Juan Mountains

    RightQuarter in56 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for San Juan Mountains, about 56 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Maroon Bells

    LeftHalfway13 mi off the route

    Maroon Bells is about 13 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  8. Mount Elbert

    LeftHalfway15 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Elbert sits roughly 15 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. Pikes Peak

    Either sideHalfway4 mi off the route

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

    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

2,394 mi
Great-circle distance
79°
Course out of SFO
106°
Course into RDU
5
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?

Raleigh–Durham → San FranciscoRight 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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