Jet WindowWindow seat by route · LAX to JFK
Los Angeles to New York JFK: which side of the plane?
Sun right by day, left in the evening.
It turns with the clock. On morning and midday departures the sun is mostly on the right; leave in the evening and it is mostly on the left. Find your departure time in the table.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Los Angeles. About 5 h in the air over 2,146 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Right · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| Noon | Right · sunset about 3 hours in | Left · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Right · sunset 5 minutes in | Left · sunset about 2.5 hours in |
| 10 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Left · sunrise about 4.5 hours in |
Out of the window
What you can look for.
Right on the Pacific shore at the edge of the LA basin.
Along the way
- Las Vegas, an island of light in the dark desert on the left
- The Grand Canyon cut into the Colorado Plateau below you, so either side, in daylight
- The Rocky Mountains, rank after rank of them below you, so either side, in daylight
- Chicago along the lakefront, the grid running inland on the left
- The Great Lakes, big enough to have a horizon of their own on the left, in daylight
Leaving Los Angeles
Straight out over the Pacific and Santa Monica Bay; Catalina Island rides offshore on a clear day.
Arriving in New York
Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway barrier beaches, then the Manhattan skyline strung across the horizon before the turn onto final.
Best from the left, because on the Canarsie visual to Runway 13L/R the field is southeast of the city, so Manhattan stays off the left.
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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