Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Delhi to New York. The right side wins overall because the Delhi departure view over the Yamuna and Lutyens' Delhi is genuinely distinctive and hard to replicate, and as the route curves northwest over Afghanistan and Central Asia, the right side also picks up better views of the Hindu Kush foothills and the Aral Sea basin. The JFK arrival advantage on the left is real but briefer in duration.

During takeoff from Indira Gandhi International (DEL), sit on the Right side for the best views. IGI Airport's primary departure runway 28/29 sends aircraft westward, then routes typically curve northwest toward Pakistan and Central Asia. The right side faces north, giving views over central Delhi — Connaught Place, the grid of Lutyens' Delhi, and the Yamuna River snaking east of the city. The left side faces south over flat agricultural Haryana with little of interest. Notable sights include: Yamuna River bend east of Delhi, Lutyens' Delhi grid and Rajpath axis, Connaught Place circular road pattern, outer ring road network visible as concentric arcs.

When landing at John F Kennedy International (JFK), sit on the Left side for the best views. JFK's primary arrival runways 31L/31R bring aircraft in from the northeast over Long Island, tracking southwest. The left side faces southeast, looking over Jamaica Bay, the Rockaway Peninsula barrier beach, and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. The right side faces northwest toward Queens and Brooklyn but the left side has the more dramatic water-meets-city geography. Notable sights include: Jamaica Bay and its marsh islands, Rockaway Peninsula barrier beach, Atlantic Ocean, Belt Parkway and Marine Parkway Bridge.

The flight from Indira Gandhi International (DEL) to John F Kennedy International (JFK) takes Approximately 14 to 15 hours nonstop.

The route tracks northwest from Delhi over Pakistan's Punjab plains, then over Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush mountain range, across Turkmenistan and the dried Aral Sea basin, over the Caspian Sea, then across the Caucasus or southern Russia, over Ukraine or Poland depending on routing (post-2022 airspace restrictions push routes north), across the North Atlantic via Greenland or Iceland, then down the Canadian Maritime provinces and New England coast to New York. The Greenland ice sheet and North Atlantic are the dominant midpoint features — a vast white expanse of glaciated terrain followed by open grey ocean.