Jet WindowWindow seat by route · BOS to SFO
Boston to San Francisco: which side of the plane?
Sun on the left.
The sun is on the left on 4 of the 5 daylight departures we modeled. Sit left for the light and any sunset; sit right to keep the glare off and the ground easier to photograph.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Boston. About 6 h in the air over 2,344 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Left · sun on this side | Left · sun on this side |
| Noon | Left · sun on this side | Left · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Right · sun on this side |
| 10 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Dark the whole way |
Out of the window
What you can look for.
Out on the edge of San Francisco Bay.
Along the way
- The New York metropolitan area, a vast grid of light after dark on the left
- The Great Lakes, big enough to have a horizon of their own below you, so either side, in daylight
- Chicago along the lakefront, the grid running inland on the left
- The Rocky Mountains, rank after rank of them on the left, in daylight
- The Sierra Nevada, a granite wall along the edge of the desert below you, so either side, in daylight
Arriving in San Francisco
A long final low over the water of the Bay, with the Bay Bridge, the city skyline and, on a clear day, the Golden Gate to the north.
Best from the right, because the busiest west-flow arrivals (Runways 28L/R) come in from the southeast, keeping the Bay and city to the north, on the right.
How this was worked out
The same engine as the app.
These answers come from the model Jet Window uses on your phone: the sun's position from the cabin's own horizon at cruise, sampled along the great-circle path, with the landmark and airport notes the app shows. This page has to assume a departure time and a flight time, and a real flight bends with winds, airways and the runway in use. Cloud is not modeled.
In the app, Jet Window works it out for your actual flight, at its real departure time, and tells you when to look.
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