Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Chicago (ORD) to Phoenix (PHX)?
On this route the shady side switches during the day, depending on when you take off. Add a departure date to see yours.
Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Chicago (ORD) to Phoenix (PHX)?
On this route the shady side switches during the day, depending on when you take off. Add a departure date to see yours.
Which side of the plane should I sit on to avoid the sun from Chicago (ORD) to Phoenix (PHX)?
On this route the shady side switches during the day, depending on when you take off. Add a departure date to see yours.
Chicago → Phoenix
A medium flight within United States. You gain 1 hour on arrival.
The Windy City
Chicago lines the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, a flat, gridded city with one of the great American downtowns at its heart. Elevated trains and a deep commuter-rail network make the core genuinely transit-friendly, and the lakefront ties the city together. Beyond downtown and the north-side neighborhoods, Chicago spreads into a huge belt of suburbs. Winters are hard, and the wind off the lake lives up to the nickname.
Surrounding hubs
| 965 km / 600 mi | |
| 976 km / 606 mi | |
| 983 km / 611 mi |
The Valley of the Sun
Phoenix anchors a wide, flat desert valley ringed by mountains, one of the hottest big cities in the country and still growing quickly. Summer heat is intense enough to shape daily life for months, pushing outdoor plans to early morning or evening. The metro grew up almost entirely around the car, with a single light-rail line cutting through downtown and Tempe but reaching only a fraction of the sprawl. Plan around the heat as much as the distances.
Surrounding hubs
| 818 km / 508 mi | |
| 968 km / 601 mi | |
| 1,046 km / 650 mi |
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.
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.
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.
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 →
Notes from the product.
Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.
Over the top, and other ways to fly
FlightSide now has Explore, a map of popular flights grouped by the path they fly, and a Guide with step-by-step walkthroughs for checking, sharing and using FlightSide offline.
Type less, wait less, wonder more
Airport search now understands metro codes and old city names, FlightSide loads noticeably faster, and a new Feeling lucky button chooses a flight for anyone without one in mind.
A closer look at the route, not just the seat
FlightSide now shows the two cities and key details about the flight alongside the seat recommendation: confirm you picked the right airports, read the time change off two clocks, and check the return leg.