Originally Posted by
Jetstreamer
When crossing the pond westbound I always sit on the right hand side to avoid the sun and the same with westbound US transcons. Reverse this for eastbound flights. I sometimes deviate from this though if I know the destination airport has a spectacular approach best viewed from the other side.
On a similar theme I always sit on the left hand side for overnight transatlantic eastbound flights (particularly in winter) in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights which I often have. I'm not the kind of person that takes kindly to the request to lower window shades
You and I would make poor traveling companions because I would always be trying to get the same window seat you're after! I've found FAs tend to respond quite enthusiastically to my requests to be awakened if the captain observes the Aurora Borealis.
However, I am often willing to sit on the sunny side in such cases as:
1) the only available window seats are on the sunny side,
2) there's only a single seat on the sunny side vs. two on the "dark side," such as an Embraer 145,
3) there are only two seats on the sunny side vs. three on the dark side, such as on an MD-80 (on Delta MD-80s there seems to also be more leg room on the 2-seat side).
4) flying south along the eastern Florida coast at sunset, when you can catch the reflection of the sun in the Gulf of Mexico and thus see the entire width of the state in between the Gulf and the Atlantic directly beneath you.