Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from San Francisco to Santa Fe. Left side wins both ends of the flight. During the cruise over Nevada and Arizona, the left side also tracks closer to the Colorado Plateau features including the Grand Canyon region on the southern horizon, making it the stronger choice throughout the entire route.

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. A left seat gives you San Francisco Bay, the city skyline, and the Bay Bridge as you climb out and bank southeast. The right side faces the peninsula suburbs with less visual interest. Notable sights include: San Francisco Bay, Bay Bridge, San Francisco city skyline, San Mateo Bridge.

When landing at Santa Fe Muni (SAF), sit on the Left side for the best views. Santa Fe Municipal typically uses runway 20 for arrivals from the north, meaning the aircraft approaches from the north-northwest heading south. A left seat faces east toward the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which rise dramatically above the high desert plateau directly beside the approach path. The right side looks west over flat scrubland. Notable sights include: Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe city grid, Jemez Mountains (distant, west), Rio Grande valley.

The flight from San Francisco International (SFO) to Santa Fe Muni (SAF) takes Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes.

The route crosses the Sierra Nevada east of Fresno, then tracks over the Nevada desert basin-and-range terrain, crosses into Arizona over the Mojave transition zone, passes north of the Grand Canyon region and the Colorado Plateau, crosses the Painted Desert and the high mesas of the Navajo Nation, then descends over the Jemez Plateau and Rio Grande valley into Santa Fe.