Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Phoenix to Houston. Left side wins both ends of the flight. At departure you get the Phoenix metro, Salt River valley, and the McDowell and Superstition ranges. At arrival you get the Houston Ship Channel industrial complex and the downtown skyline. The right side offers comparatively flat, featureless desert and suburban sprawl at both ends.

During takeoff from Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), sit on the Left side for the best views. PHX typically departs east on runway 26R/25L or west on 8R/7L. On an eastbound departure toward Houston, the left (north) side gives you a clear view of the Phoenix metro grid, the Salt River valley, and the dramatic rise of the McDowell Mountains and Four Peaks to the northeast. The right side faces south toward flat desert with less visual interest. Notable sights include: South Mountain Park ridgeline to the south (right side, so left avoids it), McDowell Mountains to the northeast, Tempe Town Lake and ASU campus below, Superstition Mountains on the eastern horizon.

When landing at William P Hobby (HOU), sit on the Left side for the best views. Hobby Airport sits on Houston's southeast side and typically receives arrivals from the west or northwest on runways 04/22 or 13R/31L. On approach from the west, the left side faces south and gives views of the Houston Ship Channel, the industrial port complex, and the downtown Houston skyline off to the north. The right side faces north toward flat suburban sprawl with fewer distinctive features. Notable sights include: Houston Ship Channel and port industrial complex, downtown Houston skyline to the north, Clear Lake and NASA Johnson Space Center to the southeast, Galveston Bay on the horizon.

The flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) to William P Hobby (HOU) takes Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes.

The flight crosses the Sonoran Desert transitioning to the Chihuahuan Desert over southern New Mexico and far west Texas, passing near the Guadalupe Mountains and the Permian Basin oil fields visible as a dense grid of access roads and well pads. Over central Texas the terrain flattens into the Edwards Plateau and then the Gulf Coastal Plain. The Pecos River and Colorado River of Texas are occasionally visible as thin ribbons cutting through the brown landscape.