Right or left: how (and on which flights) to choose the 'right' side of the cabin

Aisle or window? When it comes to choosing a seat on board, some people prefer to have the aisle space at their side and others opt for the view (as long as the seat is not over the wing). The middle seat is usually affixed by companies at check-in to those passengers who have not chosen their seats online.

To make the bite of the middle seat less indigestible for its passengers, Virgin Australia has introduced a kind of lottery, which offers cash prizes, reserved for those who sit in the middle seats of its Boeing 737s, which have three seats per side of the cabin in each row.

However, there may be other criteria by which to choose a board seat, If you are among the aficionados of the window seat.

Warm or cool

The first may be related to temperature: Sitting a few inches from the window, the presence or absence of the sun matters, even if you pull down the shade. So if you are particularly hot or cold on the plane, you can take a look at the route followed and the flight time and choose accordingly.

Very clear example: a domestic flight in Italy from north to south, for example from Milan to Catania: flying in the morning, the sun will be on the left side of the cabin, in the afternoon on the right side. On flights over the Atlantic from Europe to North America, the sun will be on the left side of the cabin for most of the flight, 'moving' then to the right side in the last phase of the trip.

Panorama right or wrong

Then there is the view. There are destinations that are more scenic than others. If you land at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, which is in the middle of nowhere, there is little to see in the last few minutes before your flight except fields, a few farms or a few cows, whether you are sitting on the right or left side of the cabin. If, however, your destination is New York City, things change.

If you land at Newark Airport., where the 90% of landings occurs in the southbound direction, sitting on the left side of the window seat cabin will give you a very good chance (weather permitting) of enjoying the view of the Manhattan skyline. If you land at JFK instead., you will have a better chance of spotting the famous skyscrapers by sitting on the right side of the cabin.

Landing at Los Angeles International, sitting on the right hand side. you will be able to see the skyscrapers of downtown LA and, if the day is clear, even catch a glimpse of the 'Hollywood' sign. City airports, of course, offer the best 'views' when landing. An example is Washington National, which is just across the Potomac River from the city: in this case, to catch a glimpse of the famous obelisk and some other famous monuments of the US capital, you will have to choose the left side of the cabin.

Instead, sit to the right in the hope of catching a glimpse of Westminster, Big Ben, the Thames and the London Eye wheel when landing at Heathrow: if in fact, as is the case in most cases, the approach is from east to west, your plane will fly south of the Thames, giving those seated to the right an exceptional view of the center of the English capital.

Coming to our home, passengers seated on the left in flights landing at Milan Linate will be able to catch a glimpse (fog permitting in the winter months) of the Duomo, the Skyscrapers of Gae Aulenti Square including the spire of the Unicredit tower, and the three skyscrapers (the 'straight', the 'curved' and the 'crooked') of City Life.

Choosing the right chair

If you are not familiar with airplanes and configurations, it is always best to check airplane model and cabin configuration. It would be unpleasant to end up sitting in a window-side seat but without a window. Or get fooled by the row numbering and end up sitting on the wing.

That's why there are services like Aerolopa, which allow you to see in detail the configuration of different cabins and avoid nasty surprises. To avoid misunderstandings even in business class it can happen that you are sitting in a seat that is less beautiful and scenic than others.

So, watch the place and...have a good view!