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New York → San Francisco

JFK–SFO · John F. Kennedy International Airport to San Francisco International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Wasatch Range leads it, with 2 more on the same side.

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 SFO: 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.JFKSFOLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 57 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 sideEarly4 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. Chicago skyline

    Either sideQuarter in3 mi off the route

    Chicago skyline passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  3. Longs Peak

    LeftThree quarters57 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Longs Peak, about 57 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Uinta Mountains

    RightThree quarters27 mi off the route

    Uinta Mountains is about 27 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. Wasatch Range

    RightThree quarters23 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Wasatch Range sits roughly 23 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Mono Lake

    LeftNear the end34 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Mono Lake, about 34 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Lake Tahoe

    RightNear the end53 mi off the route

    Lake Tahoe is about 53 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. San Francisco Bay

    Either sideNear the end0 mi off the route

    Whether San Francisco Bay appears comes down to how you come into SFO, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

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

2,580 mi
Great-circle distance
282°
Course out of JFK
250°
Course into SFO
5
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 Francisco → 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.

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