Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Seattle to Chicago. Left side wins at both ends of the flight. Takeoff offers Lake Washington, the Cascades, and Mount Rainier; landing delivers the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. During cruise the left side also faces generally south, giving slightly better views of the northern Rockies and Montana high plains as the route tracks southeast.

During takeoff from Seattle Tacoma International (SEA), sit on the Left side for the best views. SEA's primary departure runways (16L/16R heading south, or 34L/34R heading north) mean left-side passengers get views over Elliott Bay, downtown Seattle, and the Olympic Peninsula. Departing northbound on 34s, the left side faces west toward Puget Sound and the Olympics; departing southbound on 16s, the left side looks east toward Lake Washington and the Cascades before the aircraft turns east. Notable sights include: Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle skyline, Lake Washington, Mount Rainier (southeast), the Cascade Range foothills.

When landing at Chicago Ohare International (ORD), sit on the Left side for the best views. ORD primarily uses runways oriented roughly east-west (10/28) and northwest-southeast (32L/32R, 27L/27R). On typical westerly approaches to runways 10L/10R or 28s, left-side passengers look south over the Chicago metropolitan grid and can see the downtown Loop skyline, Lake Michigan's shoreline, and the dense urban fabric of the city. The right side faces north toward the suburbs with far less visual interest. Notable sights include: Chicago Loop skyline, Lake Michigan shoreline, the Chicago River corridor, the dense urban street grid of the North Side.

The flight from Seattle Tacoma International (SEA) to Chicago Ohare International (ORD) takes Approximately 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours 15 minutes.

The flight tracks southeast over the Idaho panhandle and northern Rockies, then across the high plains of Montana and Wyoming before crossing into South Dakota and Minnesota. Visible features include the Bitterroot Range and Clearwater Mountains of Idaho, the broad Missouri River drainage across Montana, the flat agricultural checkerboard of the Dakotas, and the Mississippi River valley approaching the Chicago metro area.