Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Detroit to Phoenix. The landing approach into Phoenix on the right side delivers the most visually distinctive scenery of the flight — Camelback Mountain and the McDowell range rising from the flat desert grid is genuinely dramatic. The takeoff left-side Lake Erie view is good but relatively brief. Right side also catches the Sonoran Desert transition and Colorado River crossing during cruise.

During takeoff from Willow Run (YIP), sit on the Left side for the best views. Departing Willow Run, most runways send you westward or southwestward. The left side gives you a clear view south over the Detroit metro sprawl, the River Raisin corridor, and Lake Erie's western basin coming into view as you climb. The right side faces north toward suburban sprawl with less geographic drama. Notable sights include: Lake Erie western basin, Detroit River corridor, Toledo metro area to the south, Monroe County farmland grid.

When landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), sit on the Right side for the best views. Phoenix Sky Harbor's primary arrival runways (26L/26R) bring aircraft in from the east heading west, putting the right side facing north toward the McDowell Mountains, Camelback Mountain, and the dense Phoenix grid. The left side faces south toward South Mountain Park but misses the more dramatic northern terrain and downtown Phoenix. Notable sights include: Camelback Mountain, McDowell Mountains, downtown Phoenix skyline, Salt River bed and Tempe Town Lake.

The flight from Willow Run (YIP) to Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) takes Approximately 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours.

The flight tracks southwest over Indiana and Illinois farmland, then crosses the Mississippi River near St. Louis, continues over the Ozark Plateau in Missouri and Arkansas, crosses into Oklahoma and Texas panhandle grasslands, then transitions into the Sonoran Desert over New Mexico and Arizona. The Colorado River crossing near the AZ-CA border is visible, and the Mogollon Rim escarpment in central Arizona is a notable terrain feature roughly 100 miles northeast of Phoenix.