Amazing views?

Hi, thought it was time for a lighthearted topic after the general bad news with regards to IFBT...

While onboard have you seen a view that has made you say 'wow'. I remember a while back flying over the Rocky Mountains en-route to LAX. It was an amazing sight, so beautiful. Also flying over Greenland always fills me with wonder!

Marc...

Greenland and Russia always impress me.... Russia more so at the mo.....

[Scrooge]

Having flown this route many times I honestly find it kind of boring, however on the last flight over we took a more northerly route and flew through the heart of Greenland, even the FA's were amazed at the sight.

Also as you say the Rocky's are amazing, seeing Lake Tahoe from 30k feet is something else [y]

First time flying into SFO, I was right at the back of a 747 which banked while descending and gave me the most beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the city itself. It was a lovely sunny clear day and I'll never forget how bold and instantly recognisable the bridge was. Great start to my holiday.

[honey lamb]

Omigosh, where to start? Greenland, as has been said before and like karnsculpture, the sight of the Golden Gate Bridge is truly amazing. Likewise the sight of Manhattan, when flying into EWR. Flying over the Alps and the mountains in Iran were something else and I really went 'WOW!' on the approach to HKG but the one that really took the biscuit was flying into SYD and seeing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and the whole of Sydney Harbour

Oooh what a nice thread

looking forward to reading all of those views,

Mine was flying over the Maldives........
and even better when we took the seaplane to 'our island'

Scarlet

This is kind of a reverse of a magnificent sight.

Seeing Grand Canyon reduced to almost a wriggley crack (albeit a big one). Makes you realise we are just tiny tiny people.

I *never* get bored of looking out of the window on flights. I must look like a complete novice who's never flown before because everyone else in upper is just sitting there all aloof.

Annoyingly the suites, when not in bed mode arn't great for views due to the angle.

Has to be northern Canada, Hudson Bay, Newfoundland, and Long Island for me [:D]

Dean

[mitchja]

You get some really good views of San Francisco when flying SFO-LAS sat in an 'A' window seat.

Approaching SYD also offers some good views too, although can't remember which side is best for that one.

Agree with Scarlet when flying to/around the Maldives [y]

I still want to see the Northern Lights sometime, which I believe the SFO route is good for during the winter months.

Regards

Despite flying into SFO over 40 times, i still think the Marin headland, GG Bridge, Alcatraz and the city are a delight to see.

The best view I ever had was LAX to DEN, seeing the Grand Canyon at 37,000 feet was fantastic, unfortunately we were strapped in at the time, and my camera was in the overhead bin.

Mark

Flying into SYD the first time (and the second when we flew in from MEL) made my heart swell -the sight of the Bridge and the Opera House made me feel very emotional. Golden Gate Bridge is also great to see from the air, as is the Vegas strip.Dubai from the air gives you a true picture of the awesome engineering and construction work.
Biggest 'wow' moment was flying (in daylight) into the old Kai Tak airport at HKG. Actually it was more 'S**T' (loud squeaky voice) than 'wow' but ungorgettable nonetheless! Flying out (in darkness)was just as unforgettable.

[preiffer]

Flying over the top of a VS 747 leaving SFO is my winner... [:w]

(Helps if you're at the controls, too [;)])

I love flying into many of the european ski destinations, Salzburg,Turin,Lyon.. spectacular views, especially from the cockpit[}:)]

But my all time fave, must be like scarlett, on a seaplane flying in the Maldives...

After a long trip away from my family, occasionally when landing at Heathrowi in day light you get a great tour of London (never yet found my house) and that always makes me very emotional.

Unlike Jacki I can see my house sometimes when flying home into LHR, and that fills me with a warm feeling of seeing the no. 1 and the dogs.

Other great views, SFO as said, once did a helicopter into the Grand Canyon and flying over the Hoover Dam was awe inspiring, Greenland is ethereally beautiful, the deserts of Saudi Arabia are quite something - especially when dotted with oil fields, sometimes landings in Hong Kong can give great views - like Wolves, I too never tire of the views even into familiar places.

As a wannabee geologist it has to be viewing the Grand Staircase (Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon) laid out on a cloudless day from 34,000 feet. It was one of those Eureka moments that where I suddenly got it!.

FM

Originally posted by Autopilot
I remember a while back flying over the Rocky Mountains en-route to LAX. It was an amazing sight, so beautiful.
Marc...

Oh yes. . .

Flying back into London after a year travelling around the world. We'd gone around anticlockwise, so our last flight was from Rio to Madrid with Iberia (undescribably bad) then a change to BA (not a huge deal better). As we came in we flew down the river, over the part of London we lived in, so could look down and see our house below - quite an emotional moment, not least because it meant we had to go back to work within a month or so.

A close second? Looking out the lefthand side of the plane at Mt. Everest on a short hop between Kathmandu and Lhasa.

So many to tell, so here's a selection!

- Manhattan, both night and day.
- US eastern seaboard, so many white beaches.
- Grand Canyon
- Channel Islands
- Northern Ireland (Lough Neagh)
- US Midwest (all the lines of agricultured fields)
- Rocky Mountains
- Greenland
- Las Vegas strip
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Hollywood sign when landing in LAX
- Chicago skyscrapers when landing in to ORD from the direction of Lake Michigan.

Could go on but this is a start!

Possibly the dullest out of the window view is on the flights to the Caribbean until you hit the islands...hour 1...water...hour 2...more water...hour 3...look, water....definite limits on 'I Spy' as a travelling game.

I'm always struck by the contrast between flying at night over England and the USA; the former is one long string of lights, the latter still has patches of dark between the lights. It reinforces the sheer scale of the place.

Paul

Best sights whilst on plane:

- Coming into LaGuardia, which seems to offer some stunning views of Manhattan Island when compared to JFK or EWR
- As others have said, SYD is a cracker
- Flying down the west coast of Barbados before hanging a left into BGI (this time next week!)
- A well proportioned Tanqueray No 10 and tonic, ice and a wedge of lime. Beats anything out of the window if you ask me...

Don't know where to start on this one so here's some which come to mind first...

- Flying into Kaitak before the closed it
- Into SFO with view of the bay and bridges
- Landing at Nice, provided you're sat on the correct side of the plane the view along the Baie des Anges is lovely.
- Lake Tahoe from 35000 feet is just beautiful on a clear day

Chris

A few fab views:

Arriving in Sydney:


San Francisco:


Mount Kilimanjaro:

Mine was flying up the East River after departing EWR and a reasonably low level bank gave a fantastic view over Manhattan.

Nice topic...

-Have had loads of great views of Greenland and the icebergs when I used to fly LHR-LAX several times a year in the 1990s.

-Flying into SFO from LHR a few years ago, had the Golden Gate Bridge & Marin Headlands on the left side then banked round and arrive from the south. I fly into SFO a few times a year as my brother-in-law lives there and I always like seeing the salt pans at the sound end of the bay. Very colourful.

-Flying into LAX at night. Looks very cool with the boulevards stretching for miles in pretty much all directions. You can spot LAX a mile off as it is the only unlit spot.

-As IAD-RIC or v.v. is only 100miles you'll sometimes never go above 10,000ft. In November I knew I'd have to wait for my wife at the airport because as I flew over I could see our cars were parked up and she hadn't left the house yet! On one occasion we headed some distance west out of IAD and had a lovely view of the Shenandoah to the right side.

-Flying back home into LHR...I either get a nice view of my parent's house or the city of London.

-Flying into LGA over Brooklyn & Queens with superb views of Manhattan, then banking round for approach with Flushing Meadow & Shea Stadium below.

-Flying into ORD we went over Lake Michigan with the city on the left and then turned to the west for a great view of the city.

-Flying into CPT with Table Mountain and what looked like all the Toytown buildings of the city at the foot of it.

-Great view of the Grand Crack (it's what it looks like from 37,000ft) between JFK and LAX.

I'm always going for a window seat, I'm too easily impressed by the view.[:I]