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During the day landing at LAX is ho hum. The downtown skyline is disappointing for a city that size. All you see surrounding downtown is endless sprawl, mountains at a distance, the flat LA Basin below, & smog.
Sure. Coming in from the east all you see is the San Bernardino Mountains. Then the San Gabriels to the North- many years you can see snow on Baldy in June. Then the Santa Monica Mountains Mountians. The Palos Verdes Peninsula. Then the Pacific Ocean. And Catalina Island. Santa Clemente Island, maybe Anacapa & Santa Cruz. Then you land, after an half an hour.
I voted NYC because it's impressive no matter the hour. The LA Basin is awesome at night but it's not enough to outdo New York. Chicago has an awesome grid at night too.
Agreed. I feel the same can be said about LA at street level. It's really only pretty at night when you don't see the smog, all those soot-covered stucco bldgs, and the dead palm fronds littering the sidewalks.
I never see why people think, dead palm leaves was any uglier than dead leaves in the early-winter. And stucco isn't all that ugly. Endless bland, brown, brick can be very grab. Especially in dilapidated structures.
Miami is really impressive because you almost always end up flying low over the skyline/Biscayne Bay/South Beach. On that note, FTL is very similar.
NYC is really really impressive from a lot of directions, but not all directions (like coming in from Europe...eh not so much). I love flying in LGA over Manhattan at night; brings you right over Times Square and all that that implies.
LA is also very impressive. Flying into LAX almost certainly means a nice little tour over the city. Plus the topography is just gorgeous. Now flying right "into" LAX is pretty disgusting. Usually super hazy, refinery stacks, etc. But the 5-10 minutes before you get to LAX is pretty awesome.
I've had many many many awesome moments flying into Atlanta. When you land, you usually must approach from the east. So if you're coming in from Chicago, TX, or the west coast, you get to fly low overhead right over downtown and over the eastern neighborhoods before circling back around. I know which seats to pick on almost any flight into Hartsfield. Coming in from the NE isn't bad either...you hit the GA foothills, Gwinnett COunty, and then get some good East-west views of Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown.
Flying into SFO is...ok. OFtentimes it's foggy, hazy, etc. But even on clear days your approach is from the south. So unless you're flying in from Seattle and get a very certain seat on the right hand side, you're not going to see much of SF from the plane. However, on a clear day if you get a seat on the left hand side, the view of the Peninsula as you land is pretty darn nice.
Flying into Boston is better than SFO, but not breathtaking. I've also had some harrowing landings there when Nor'Easters whip up and they haven't yet grounded flights.
Flying into Reagan at DC can be pretty interesting. Had one of the most turbulent landings there once, but I think it had more to do with an inexperienced pilot (was JetBlue or AirTran) who was new at navigating the Potomac in for noise reduction. However, sitting on the left hand side of the plane you get a stunning view of DC and Georgetown. Even on the right hand side you get a stunning view of NoVa and as far over as Alexandria.
This about does it for memorable US landings for me...
Sure. Coming in from the east all you see is the San Bernardino Mountains. Then the San Gabriels to the North- many years you can see snow on Baldy in June. Then the Santa Monica Mountains Mountians. The Palos Verdes Peninsula. Then the Pacific Ocean. And Catalina Island. Santa Clemente Island, maybe Anacapa & Santa Cruz. Then you land, after an half an hour.
I still say downtown is not impressive from the air. It looked like landing at Vegas to me.
Last edited by Metro Matt; 04-15-2014 at 10:12 PM..
This about does it for memorable US landings for me...
These are all good, though I can't understand why Chicago especially over the lake and with shots of downtown isn't on your list. Perhaps you haven't experienced that but it's like flying over a smaller version of Manhattan.
I have not had the pleasure, unfortunately. I used to fly into O'Hare when my family was United medallion members. It was also more convenient for visiting family. But I don't recall good views. The past few times I have flown in I have been cheap and flown into Midway, because at this stage I am (single young adult without family in tow) I coming right into the city and the Red line is very convenient. From Midway you don't get any spectacular views, as you know.
Also, the one thing that might impact this for a lot of people is where they are flying from. In my case I have only flown into Chicago from the west, from Atlanta, and from FL. I have never flown from the NE or NW.
Also, the one thing that might impact this for a lot of people is where they are flying from. In my case I have only flown into Chicago from the west, from Atlanta, and from FL. I have never flown from the NE or NW.
I was going to say this - and sometimes it doesn't even matter. It depends on the traffic of the airport and what not when you're flying in. I have flown in from the west and circled above downtown more than once from that, mainly because it was too busy and we had to come in on a runway you approach from the east instead.
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