Jet WindowWindow seat by route · ANC to SEA
Anchorage to Seattle: which side of the plane?
Sun side turns with season and hour.
The sun is on the left on 3 and the right on 3 of the 6 daylight departures we modeled, so the season and the hour decide it. Find yours in the table.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Anchorage. About 3 h in the air over 1,256 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Left · sunrise about 1 hour in | Left · sun on this side |
| Noon | Right · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Right · sun on this side |
| 10 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Left · sunset about 1 hour in |
On a dark crossing, the left side faces north. If there is an aurora that night, that is where it will be. Jet Window checks the aurora forecast for your actual flight.
Out of the window
What you can look for.
Arriving in Seattle
Volcano country: Mount Rainier looms to the southeast, the Olympics rise across Puget Sound to the west, and the Cascades run north.
How this was worked out
The same engine as the app.
These answers come from the model Jet Window uses on your phone: the sun's position from the cabin's own horizon at cruise, sampled along the great-circle path, with the landmark and airport notes the app shows. This page has to assume a departure time and a flight time, and a real flight bends with winds, airways and the runway in use. Cloud is not modeled.
In the app, Jet Window works it out for your actual flight, at its real departure time, and tells you when to look.
More routes