Jet WindowWindow seat by route · SFO to BOS
San Francisco to Boston: 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 San Francisco. About 5 h 15 min in the air over 2,344 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 | Right · 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.
Out on the edge of San Francisco Bay.
Along the way
- The Sierra Nevada, a granite wall along the edge of the desert below you, so either side, in daylight
- The Rocky Mountains, rank after rank of them on the right, in daylight
- 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 right
- The New York metropolitan area, a vast grid of light after dark on the right
Leaving San Francisco
Many departures bank out over the Bay, swinging the city and the Golden Gate into view.
Arriving in Boston
In low over Boston Harbor and its islands, with the Financial District skyline and South Boston close by.
Best from the left, because the common northeast-flow arrivals to Runways 4L/R cross the harbor with downtown, which lies northwest of the field, 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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