Jet WindowWindow seat by route · LAX to ATL
Los Angeles to Atlanta: which side of the plane?
Sun on the right.
The sun is on the right on 5 of the 6 daylight departures we modeled. Sit right for the light and any sunset; sit left to keep the glare off and the ground easier to photograph.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Los Angeles. About 4 h in the air over 1,688 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Right · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| Noon | Right · sunset about 3 hours in | Right · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Right · sunset 5 minutes in | Left · sunset about 2 hours in |
| 10 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Dark the whole way |
Out of the window
What you can look for.
Right on the Pacific shore at the edge of the LA basin.
Along the way
- Las Vegas, an island of light in the dark desert on the left
- The Grand Canyon cut into the Colorado Plateau on the left, in daylight
Leaving Los Angeles
Straight out over the Pacific and Santa Monica Bay; Catalina Island rides offshore on a clear day.
Arriving in Atlanta
The downtown Atlanta towers rise from an unbroken green sea of pine and red-clay Piedmont north of the field.
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.
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