CabinShade
Best side of the plane for sunset and sunrise views
Short answer: the sun sets in the west and rises in the east. Flying north, the sunset is on the left (seat A) and the sunrise on the right (F/K). Flying south, it's the other way round. Flying east or west, sunrise and sunset are ahead of or behind you, and the season decides which side gets the better view.
Flying north or south: the easy case
Sit facing the front of the plane. Heading north, west is on your left, so evening flights show the sunset from the left windows (A) and morning flights show the sunrise from the right windows (F/K). Heading south, swap them: sunset on the right (F/K), sunrise on the left (A).
Flying east or west: it depends on the season
The sun doesn't rise exactly in the east or set exactly in the west. In the Northern Hemisphere summer (roughly April to August) it rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west. In winter (roughly October to February) it rises in the south-east and sets in the south-west. Around the equinoxes in late March and late September it is close to due east and west, so on an east–west flight it sits almost straight ahead or behind, and both sides see it at an angle.
| Flying | Northern summer | Northern winter |
|---|---|---|
| East, sunrise (ahead) | Left, seat A | Right, F/K |
| East, sunset (behind) | Left, seat A | Right, F/K |
| West, sunset (ahead) | Right, F/K | Left, seat A |
| West, sunrise (behind) | Right, F/K | Left, seat A |
In the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are reversed: from December to February the sun rises in the south-east and sets in the south-west, so use the "Northern winter" column in their summer.
Chasing the sunset
Flying west in the evening, you travel with the sun, so the sunset lasts longer than it would on the ground. On a long westbound flight the sun can hang low on the horizon for an hour or more. Flying east, you race toward the night and the sunset passes quickly behind you. The opposite happens with sunrise on overnight flights.
Tips for sunset photos from a plane window
- Pick a window ahead of the wing for a clear view, or just behind it if you want the wingtip in the frame.
- Press your lens or phone close to the window to cut out reflections from the cabin lights.
- The golden light starts 20 to 40 minutes before sunset. Be ready early.
- At cruising altitude the horizon is lower than on the ground, so the sun sets a few minutes later than the time shown for the city below.
Find the sunset side for your flight
CabinShade's calculator plots the sun along your route, and every route page lists which side sees sunrise or sunset for each departure time and season. See Los Angeles to Honolulu, New York to Los Angeles or London to Singapore. For the shade side instead, read which side of the plane gets the sun.