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Flying from London to Boston?

Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.

About this route

LondonBoston

A long flight from United Kingdom to United States. Set your watch back 5 hours on arrival.

Route type International
Distance 5,240 km / 3,256 mi
Distance class Long-haul
Direction Westbound
Est. duration About 7h 15m
Time change Destination -5h

Departing from

LHR

London Heathrow Airport

Location London, United Kingdom
Time zone GMT+1 · UTC+1
Current time

A capital of villages

London is a vast, low-slung capital that grew by absorbing villages, so it reads as dozens of distinct neighborhoods rather than one grid. The Underground and a dense rail network make it a transit city at heart; in the center a car is a liability, discouraged by narrow streets and the congestion charge. The landmarks and business districts cluster in the middle, but much of London is the high streets and parks further out. It is large, so crossing town takes longer than the map suggests.

City access

Heathrow is the main airport, west of London and among the busiest in Europe. It has a fast dedicated rail link to the center and is also on the Underground, so reaching the city without a car is straightforward. Allow extra time at peak hours, both on the roads and through its large terminals.

Nearby airports

41 km / 25 mi

Surrounding hubs

350 km / 217 mi
365 km / 227 mi
370 km / 230 mi

Arriving at

BOS

Boston Logan International Airport

Location Boston, United States
Time zone EDT · UTC−4
Current time

The Cradle of Liberty

Boston is a compact, old city built on a tangle of colonial-era streets that famously refuse to run in a grid, wrapped by the Charles River and the harbor. The T, the country's oldest subway system, covers the core well, and much of the city is genuinely walkable. Winters are cold and snowy, summers humid, and a car in the center is more liability than asset given the narrow streets and scarce parking. The city's many universities give it a younger, more transient population than its old buildings suggest.

Surrounding hubs

322 km / 200 mi
409 km / 254 mi
450 km / 280 mi
How it works

Find out which side of the plane to sit on.

Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.

We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.

01

Enter your flight

Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.

02

We track the sun along your route

Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.

03

You get a recommendation

Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.

Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →

Latest journal

Notes from the product.

Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.