Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

New York → San Diego

JFK–SAN · John F. Kennedy International Airport to San Diego International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The right edges it, mostly on Painted Desert, but the left is not a bad seat.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

JFK to SAN: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.JFKSANLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 40 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. Manhattan

    Either sideEarly6 mi off the route

    Manhattan sits close enough to JFK that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. Rio Grande Gorge

    LeftThree quarters9 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Rio Grande Gorge sits roughly 9 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Petrified Forest

    LeftThree quarters20 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Petrified Forest, about 20 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Painted Desert

    RightThree quarters12 mi off the route

    Painted Desert is about 12 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  5. Meteor Crater

    Either sideThree quarters2 mi off the route

    Meteor Crater passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  6. San Francisco Peaks

    RightNear the end36 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for San Francisco Peaks, about 36 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Sedona red rocks

    Either sideNear the end7 mi off the route

    Sedona red rocks passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  8. Salton Sea

    Either sideNear the end4 mi off the route

    Salton Sea passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

2,441 mi
Great-circle distance
271°
Course out of JFK
244°
Course into SAN
4
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

San Diego → New YorkLeft side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

Keep nerding