Which Side of the Plane Should You Sit On?
Press play to watch the sun move round the cabin from take-off to landing.
The cabin from above, nose up. Each dot is the sun at a point in the flight; hollow ones are below the horizon.
Buenos AiresMadrid
- Sunrise 6h 32m after take-off on the right
Worked out from the great circle and an average cruising speed, so the timings are good to within a few minutes rather than to the second. Which side the sun is on is not sensitive to that.
That is one route. Your map holds all of them.
My Flight Routes turns every flight you have taken into a single interactive map, with your own stats, milestones and a replay of everywhere you have been. Start it with this one.
Free, and you can start without an account.
Book a window seat and the view is decided before you board: on one side the sun, on the other the dark. Put in a route and a departure time and this works out where the sun will be through the whole flight, which side of the cabin it sits on, and whether you will catch a sunrise or a sunset on the way.
How It Works
- Enter the route: any two airports in the world, by code or by city name.
- Set the date and the departure time, in local time at the airport you are leaving from.
- Read the verdict: which side the sun is on, and for how much of the flight.
- Check the timeline: the bar shows daylight, twilight and darkness from take-off to landing, with any sunrise or sunset marked.
What Decides the View
Three things, and none of them is the aircraft:
- Your heading: a flight west in the afternoon has the sun ahead and to one side the whole way; a flight north or south has it swing across the cabin.
- The time of day you leave: the same route at breakfast and at dinner gives opposite answers.
- The time of year and how far north or south you go: a summer flight over the Arctic can have the sun up at midnight, and never set at all.
- Flying west you chase the sunset, so it takes longer to arrive than it would on the ground; flying east it rushes at you, and a night can last four hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which side of the plane is better, left or right?
It depends entirely on the route and the time of day, which is what this tool works out. As a rule of thumb: flying west in the afternoon in the northern hemisphere, the sun is on the left; flying east in the morning it is on the right. South of the equator both are reversed.
Which side should I sit on to sleep?
The opposite side to the sun. The tool names the sunny side, so take the other one: the cabin is noticeably cooler and darker away from a low sun, especially on a long westbound flight where it stays in the window for hours.
Will I see the sunrise or sunset from the plane?
The timeline shows it if you will, with how far into the flight it happens and which side to look. On a flight that crosses enough time zones you can see a sunset and a sunrise in the same flight, or chase a sunset for hours without it ever quite setting.
How accurate is it?
The sun's position is computed with the standard astronomical algorithm, so it is accurate to a fraction of a degree. The flight path assumes the great circle and an average cruising speed, so event timings are good to within a few minutes. Which side of the cabin the sun is on is not sensitive to those few minutes.
Does it know about my aircraft or seat number?
No. It talks about the left and right of the cabin, which is all the route and the clock can tell you. Seat maps differ by aircraft and airline, so match the side to your seat letter on your airline's map.
Pick your side before the aisle does it for you.