FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Where to sit on DTW - LGA for a good view of Manhattan
Old Oct 21, 2025 | 3:13 am
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Originally Posted by emma dog
From the looks of it,the right side is probably best for runways 22 and 4 (67% of arrivals). The left looks like it's best for runway 31 (32%) (Example) (This flight got a tour out the left).
Amazing find - actual data!

But I think your conclusion is off - for runway 4 & 31 the plane approaches from the south over southern Brooklyn, following the BQE over northern Brooklyn and western Queens - all giving an amazing view from the LEFT - and then either goes straight into land at runway 4, or banks right, following the LIE, and then does a tight u-turn over Flushing around Citi Field to land at runway 31. So that’s a superior left side view 52% of the time.

47% of the time the plane flies up the Hudson and loops around the Bronx to come in on runway 22 with the better Manhattan view from the right side. Which sometimes isn’t actually as good of a view, as the plane can be high enough that the city is almost directly below and not as visible.

So it’s essentially an even split unfortunately. As others have said, it’ll also depend on the time of day and weather (wind direction) ultimately. So pretty much impossible to know for sure. But I’d pick the left side since that gives the better view if conditions are favorable (the right side view is often from too high to really see the skyline anyway).
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