Colorado303

i'll be flying out to Seattle in a few weeks and was wandering which side of the plane is most likely to give me a better view, approaching and departing. Coming from Denver on Frontier.

Tod E Tosser

It seems whenever I've flown to Seattle (from Newark), the great view of Mt. Rainier was on the left. A friend who flies from Houston told me to always grab a left window seat for this reason.

Gardyloo

Welcome to FT!

Depends on the winds. Most of the time the prevailing winds at SEA are from the south, so the typical approach has you passing Mt. Rainier to the north of the mountain, hence the view is from the left side of the plane, then you turn final and can still barely see the mountain to the southeast; from the right side of the plane you'll see the Olympic mountains, Puget Sound and (usually) downtown Seattle and the Space Needle surprisingly close up.

However in the summer months the winds at SEA are from the north, in which case you get a quick view of Rainier, then the plane lines up for final from the south, meaning Rainier is on the right side and Puget Sound and Tacoma are on the left.

So pick the left side but don't be too worried, the views from the right side are pretty good too, regardless of the winds.

On departure, right side.

NapaPatTours

Fair to say, you'll see spectacular mountain views of The Cascades and The Rockies from either side of the plane (assuming a clear sky).

My rule of thumb is always sit on the side away from the sun. This gives me better views, because I'm not looking into the sun's glare, and it keeps me from being cooked (I find the sun side of the plane much warmer than the shade side).

...and Welcome to FT! ^

FlyingUnderTheRadar

Welcome to FT. As others have said, the left side is the best side. From Denver the first volcano you will likely see is Mt. Hood in the distance, then much closer Adams, then Rainier.

temecularedwing

Flew that route last week. I'd say left side. Depending on routing, might get a good view of Tetons. Saw a couple of large fires south of Sawtooths. Should get view of both Mt. Hood and Mt Rainier if it's clear. Have a great flight!

Box10

Sometimes flights land from the north and you can see downtown below, better from the right.

Box10

Flights never land east to west or west to east. There are only north-south runways.

Colorado303

Thanks for the advice! Ended up sitting on the left side going into Seattle, and the right side when i was departing. Got a nice view of Rainier both ways, and other mountains along the way. Didn't get a view of downtown, but got a nice view of lake Washington and the Puget Sound. Already want to go back to Seattle.