Jet WindowWindow seat by route · LAX to LAS
Los Angeles to Las Vegas: which side of the plane?
Sun right by day, left in the evening.
It turns with the clock. On morning and midday departures the sun is mostly on the right; leave in the evening and it is mostly on the left. Find your departure time in the table.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Los Angeles. About 1 h in the air over 205 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 · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Left · sunset 5 minutes in | Left · sun on this side |
| 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. In a desert valley ringed by bare mountains.
Along the way
- The Los Angeles basin, lit from the mountains to the sea below you, so either side
- The Sierra Nevada, a granite wall along the edge of the desert on the left, in daylight
- Las Vegas, an island of light in the dark desert below you, so either side
Leaving Los Angeles
Straight out over the Pacific and Santa Monica Bay; Catalina Island rides offshore on a clear day.
Arriving in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Strip runs right beside the field, ringed by desert ranges: Red Rock and the Spring Mountains to the west, and Lake Mead toward the southeast.
Best from the right, because the common west-flow arrivals come from the east, keeping the Strip on the right.
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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