Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Zurich to Los Angeles. While the left side wins at departure for Lake Zurich and the Alpine foothills, the right side delivers the more dramatic arrival sequence over the full Los Angeles Basin with the San Gabriel Mountains backdrop. Over the Atlantic and central US the views are comparable, but the LAX approach on the right is the highlight of the flight.

During takeoff from Zurich (ZRH), sit on the Left side for the best views. Zurich typically departs on runway 16 heading south or runway 28 heading west. On a westbound departure toward LAX, a left-side seat gives you views over the city of Zurich and Lake Zurich stretching southeast, then the Swiss Plateau before the Alps come into view. The Uetliberg ridge and the lake's elongated shape are immediately recognizable. Notable sights include: Lake Zurich (elongated lake running southeast from the city), Zurich city center and the Limmat river corridor, the Swiss Plateau farmland patchwork, and the northern Alpine foothills rising to the south.

When landing at Los Angeles International (LAX), sit on the Right side for the best views. LAX approaches from the east on runway 24L/24R heading west over the Los Angeles Basin. A right-side seat gives you the best view of downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Hills, and the Santa Monica Bay as you descend over the city. The left side faces mostly south toward the South Bay and open ocean. Notable sights include: Downtown Los Angeles skyline, the Hollywood Hills and Griffith Observatory ridge, Santa Monica Bay and the Pacific coastline, and the San Gabriel Mountains forming the northern backdrop of the basin.

The flight from Zurich (ZRH) to Los Angeles International (LAX) takes Approximately 11 to 12 hours.

The flight tracks northwest over France and the English Channel, then across the North Atlantic near Greenland's southern tip where icebergs and sea ice may be visible, over Hudson Bay and the Canadian Shield's lake-dotted boreal forest, across the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Idaho showing snow-capped ridgelines, then descending over the Great Basin desert of Nevada before crossing the Sierra Nevada into California