KSEA → KJFK Transcon (J70)

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📍 Route: KSEA → KJFK via J70⏱ ~10 minutes📊 9 steps🎓 Line Flying

The northern transcon: Seattle to New York via J70, the same skills as J146 on a different corridor.

What this scenario covers

Same structure as the southern transcon and deliberately so — repetition on a different route is what turns the via/to airway workflow from something you remember into something you do. Different SID, different jet route, same arrival at the far end.

The northern corridor is a distinct routing rather than a variation, and the flight plan looks different: different waypoint spacing, different terrain, different wind assumptions.

How it applies in flight ops

Dispatch chooses northern or southern on the winds and the weather of the day, not on distance. The fuel difference between the two can be substantial, which is why the filed route rather than the familiar route is what gets programmed.

For a crew flying both, the value of the repetition is that the box work stops being interesting — which is exactly what you want when the weather is not.

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Step-by-step: KSEA → KJFK Transcon (J70)

  1. On RTE, enter ORIGIN KSEA. Type KSEA and press 1L.

    KSEA = Seattle-Tacoma. Real airlines run 6-7 daily nonstops to KJFK (Delta, Alaska, JetBlue). The northern transcon is preferred eastbound because tailwinds from the polar jet are stronger up there.

  2. Enter DEST KJFK. Type KJFK and press 1R.
  3. Open PERF INIT and set CRZ ALT FL370. Type 370 and press 1R.

    Eastbound = odd FLs. FL370 typical for SEA→JFK on a 737 — high enough to maximise tailwind, low enough to stay below MAX altitude at heavy cruise weight.

  4. Set COST INDEX 80 (transcon standard). Type 80 and press 5L.
  5. Open DEP/ARR and pick a KSEA SID on the left column.

    KSEA SIDs from NASR data. Real options include MONTN, SUMMA, BANGR — used for eastbound departures off RWY 16 or 34.

  6. Airways go on the RTE page. Press RTE, then 6L for RTE 2. Type J70 and press 1L (VIA) to stage the airway.

    J70 is a real FAA jet route from SEA east to JFK — northern routing through Montana, the Dakotas, and the Great Lakes region before the JFK arrival corridor. On the real 737 the airway is entered in the VIA column of the RTE page. Distinct from the southern J146 used on KLAX→KJFK.

  7. Stage TO waypoint LWT (Lewistown, MT). Type LWT and press 1R (the TO column).

    LWT (Lewistown VORTAC, Montana) is well east of Seattle on J70 — about 700 nm out, marking the transition from the Cascade climb phase to the high-plains enroute.

  8. Press EXEC* (6R) to commit the airway.
  9. Return to DEP/ARR and pick a KJFK STAR.

    KJFK STARs from the west-northwest typically use PARCH or CAMRN. The picker shows what NASR provides for KJFK.

What to take away

  • Same airway workflow, different corridor — repetition is the point.
  • Northern versus southern is a winds-and-weather decision, made by dispatch.
  • Program what was filed today, not what you flew last time.
  • Both transcons end at the same arrival, which makes the comparison direct.

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