Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Washington to San Francisco. Left side wins both departure and arrival with the DC monuments over the Potomac on takeoff and the San Francisco Bay and skyline on approach. During the cruise over the Rockies, left (south-facing) also gets slightly better views of the Colorado Rockies and Sierra Nevada on descent.

During takeoff from Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), sit on the Left side for the best views. DCA's primary departure runway 01 heads north, then aircraft bank left (west) over the Potomac. Left side gets the Capitol, National Mall, and downtown DC monuments before the turn. Right side faces Virginia suburbs with little of note. Notable sights include: The National Mall and Capitol building, the Potomac River, Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Washington Monument.

When landing at San Francisco International (SFO), sit on the Left side for the best views. SFO's primary arrival runways 28L/28R approach from the east over the Bay. Left side faces north with a clear view of the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, and the San Francisco city skyline. Right side looks south toward the Peninsula with far less visual interest. Notable sights include: San Francisco Bay, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the San Francisco city skyline, the Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge in the far distance.

The flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) to San Francisco International (SFO) takes Approximately 5 hours 30 minutes to 6 hours.

The Appalachians in West Virginia and Kentucky early in the flight, the Mississippi River near St. Louis, the flat Great Plains of Kansas and Colorado, the Rocky Mountains including the Colorado Front Range and the Wasatch Range in Utah, the Great Basin desert of Nevada, and the Sierra Nevada on descent into the Bay Area