Last week, I flew into JFK on a 12 hour flight from Tokyo Haneda. During the approach, I was able to get some fantastic views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the rest of the city.
The approach into JFK is quite complex and involves many different paths depending on weather, traffic, and where you originated. On this day, I had luck sitting on the right side of the plane.
The flight took the following route, flying directly over the Upper West Side, Central Park, and Upper East Side, giving those sitting on the right a great view of Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, in addition to parts of Brooklyn:
After crossing Manhattan, we flew over Queens and headed out over the water, before turning back and landing on 4R.
However, this route is never a guarantee. On the same Tokyo to New York flight earlier this past March, passengers on the left side had a better view of Manhattan (I was on the left side on this flight, but the weather did not cooperate), as the flight flew directly over Lower Manhattan:
The complex N90 airspace makes it difficult to determine which side of the plane is better to sit, so I just select whatever seat is available, and if I’m lucky, I’ll cap off my flight with a nice view of the city.
Either way, I was fortunate to be sitting on the correct side on this beautiful morning.
As I had my eyes glued to the window on this gorgeous summer morning, I began to realize that I may get a view of the city during approach, as I saw on Flightradar24 that we were following several aircraft taking an ideal path.
As we got closer to the city, I began noticing familar landmarks, like Newark Liberty International Airport:
Manhattan began entering our view about a minute or two later:
It was funny to think that I’d be arriving at an apartment literally in the frame of this picture, a little over an hour later. I wish I could take a parachute!
I’ve seen the New York City skyline from a distance a million times, but it still never fails to amaze me. This view from 19,000 feet was particularly unique and impressive.
All of Manhattan below 57th Street, Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and many other parts of Brooklyn are all visible here:
We also flew over Rockaway Beach. I’ve seen this area many times during other landings at JFK, but it’s always a nice view on a clear summer day.
Welcome to New York!
This reminded me of a previous flight from a few years ago, when I flew from Washington D.C. to Boston. This was from over 30,000 feet, on a similar sunny summer day:
What a beauty.
All photos by the author unless otherwise noted.
