Jet WindowWindow seat by route · JFK to SFO
New York JFK to San Francisco: which side of the plane?
Sun left by day, right in the evening.
It turns with the clock. On morning and midday departures the sun is mostly on the left; leave in the evening and it is mostly on the right. Find your departure time in the table.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to New York. About 5 h 45 min in the air over 2,242 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. | 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 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 below you, so either side
- The Rocky Mountains, rank after rank of them below you, so either side, 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.
More routes