Jet WindowWindow seat by route · ORD to LGA
Chicago to New York LaGuardia: 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 Chicago. About 1 h 45 min in the air over 636 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Right · sun on this side | Left · sun on this side |
| Noon | Right · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| 5 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Left · sun on this side |
| 10 p.m. | Dark the whole way | Dark the whole way |
Out of the window
What you can look for.
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 New York metropolitan area, a vast grid of light after dark below you, so either side
Arriving in New York
The Midtown Manhattan skyline stands close across the water as you follow the expressways and the shore of Flushing Bay past Citi Field.
Best from the left, because on the Expressway Visual to Runway 31 the city, which is southwest of the field, 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.
More routes