My Favorite Things: View to a Thrill

Thrilling view of the mountains east of Orange County, CA.

I was an adult at the time. In fact, I was the general manager of a multimillion dollar company, for crying out loud. But there I was, seated in an aisle seat on a plane, fuming. Not because the flight was delayed. Not because they didn't serve my favorite drink or not have my first choice of a meal. I was upset because I couldn't get my beloved window seat and the man...nay...loser, seated in the window seat, kept the shade closed, thus denying my ability to see out. To make things worse, I was over the wing, so when he did eventually open the shade, I couldn't see a thing. Damned wing!

It was like I was 6, not 30!

Now that I fly all for a living, I'm not that way at all. I do still enjoy the times I get to fly in a window seat. I can sit there for long periods of time just gazing at the landscape below, watching rivers snake, boat wakes on lakes, and all the lights when flying late. Sitting in a window seat is great! But if I'm not at the window, it doesn't increase my heart rate. 

Even on the ground, I enjoy seeing what's going on.

It also used to frustrate me when flying over cloud coverage because I couldn't see the towns and cities and fields below. I do, however, love flying through skies with tall, billowy clouds. Being a huge Star Wars fan with a vivid imagination, in my mind they aren't clouds we are flying around, but huge star ships hovering above foreign planets!

I'm leavin' Las Vegas, yeah, yeah.

Even on the jumpseat, I enjoy trying to steal a view. One of the things I dislike about working on the 737 is how our view out of the door portholes are so limited. One can't see at all out of door 1 Left when sitting in the jump seat. It's also difficult to see out of the portholes on the 767. They are distorted and angled down; made more for ensuring safe egress in emergency situations than sight seeing.

I no longer fume over not sitting at the window. When working, I'm often tired when I fly in a passenger seat, and I'm just ready to take a nap. The window seats are great for sleeping, in that I can prop myself against the aircraft wall. It's much better than being in the middle, crammed between other people, or in the aisle, where the cart goes back and forth and one tends to get bumped a lot by passengers and even crew.

Porthole view of IAH airport, Texas.

Yes, I'll take that window seat whenever I get the chance. It's nice to be out of the way, but there is nothing like being able to get that wonderful view; the cloud formations, the waterways, the mountains and forests, the cities and towns. I hardly ever take for granted the wonderful views of sunsets and the chance to view things from above. Another thing I tend to do is count people I see on the ground before touchdown. Sometimes it's hard to find them, especially if flying into an airport surrounded by businesses.

There is nothing quite like some good tunes on my MP3 and a great view from my airliner window seat. It's my favorite!

Flying over airports is my favorite!

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