Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Santa Ana → Detroit

SNA–DTW · John Wayne Airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

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.

SNA to DTW: 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.SNADTWLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789101112
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 51 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

    RightEarly23 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak is about 23 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. San Gorgonio Mountain

    Either sideEarly2 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    RightQuarter in51 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for San Francisco Peaks, about 51 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Grand Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in6 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon 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

  5. Lake Powell

    LeftQuarter in45 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Lake Powell sits roughly 45 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Monument Valley

    LeftQuarter in17 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Monument Valley, about 17 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Shiprock

    RightQuarter in29 mi off the route

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

    Distant possibility

  8. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in32 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 32 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightHalfway39 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 39 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Great Sand Dunes

    RightHalfway28 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes is about 28 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  11. Pikes Peak

    LeftHalfway35 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Pikes Peak sits roughly 35 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  12. Chicago skyline

    Either sideNear the end6 mi off the route

    Chicago skyline passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, 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

1,956 mi
Great-circle distance
62°
Course out of SNA
84°
Course into DTW
9
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?

Detroit → Santa AnaEither 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