Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from San Francisco to Detroit. Left side wins both the departure and arrival phases with the best views of San Francisco Bay and the Detroit River corridor. During cruise the left side also faces generally south, giving slightly better angles on the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain terrain as the route tracks northeast across the continent.

During takeoff from San Francisco International (SFO), sit on the Left side for the best views. SFO's primary departure runways (28L/28R) head west over the Bay before turning, and left-side seats face south toward the San Francisco Peninsula, the bay, and the Santa Cruz Mountains. You get a clear view of the bay's southern arm and the peninsula sprawl as the aircraft climbs and banks northeast. Notable sights include: San Francisco Bay southern reach, San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, Santa Cruz Mountains ridge, San Jose urban grid to the south.

When landing at Detroit Metro Wayne Co (DTW), sit on the Left side for the best views. DTW's primary arrival runways (21L/21R or 22L/22R) bring aircraft in from the northeast, meaning left-side seats face east-southeast toward Detroit's downtown skyline and the Detroit River as the plane descends. You get a clear look at the city core and the river boundary with Canada. Notable sights include: Detroit downtown skyline, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair to the northeast, Windsor Ontario across the river.

The flight from San Francisco International (SFO) to Detroit Metro Wayne Co (DTW) takes Approximately 4 hours 15 minutes to 4 hours 45 minutes.

Sierra Nevada range crossing near Lake Tahoe, Great Basin desert of Nevada and Utah, Rocky Mountains crossing over Colorado or Wyoming depending on routing, the flat Great Plains of Nebraska and Iowa, and the Great Lakes region approaching Michigan