Houston (IAH) to San Salvador (SAL)

There's something about a window seat that turns any flight into its own kind of adventure. This two-hour hop aboard United Flight 1290, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 departing Houston's George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and touching down at San Salvador's Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International (SAL), is no exception. From the sprawling Texas Gulf Coast falling away on climb-out to the deep blue of the Gulf of Mexico stretching toward Central America, the view never disappoints.

The real payoff comes on descent. As the MAX 9 threads its way toward SAL's Runway 07, the volcanic peaks of El Salvador rise into frame, a dramatic and only-in-Central-America arrival that reminds you exactly why you chose the window seat. Sit back and enjoy the ride, from pushback at Terminal E all the way to touchdown at one of the busiest airports in Central America.