Jet WindowWindow seat by route · DXB to LHR
Dubai to London: which side of the plane?
Sun on the left.
The sun is on the left on 5 of the 6 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 Dubai. About 7 h 30 min in the air over 2,969 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Left · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| Noon | Left · sun on this side | Left · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Left · sunset about 1 hour in | Left · sun on this side |
| 10 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Dark the whole way |
On a dark crossing, the right side faces north. If there is an aurora that night, that is where it will be. Jet Window checks the aurora forecast for your actual flight.
Out of the window
What you can look for.
A city of towers on the edge of the Arabian Gulf, with the desert at its back.
Along the way
- The Alps, snow on the high peaks most of the year on the left, in daylight
Leaving Dubai
The grid of Dubai gives way fast to bare sand dunes running to the horizon.
Arriving in London
On the usual westerly days the approach tracks over central London: the Thames, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and the City towers pass by.
Best from the right, because westerly operations (roughly 70% of days) approach from the east, putting central London north of the final, 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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