Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Hamburg to London. The left side captures Hamburg's spectacular harbour and Elbe at departure, and during the cruise you track roughly southwest over the Netherlands coast and the southern North Sea, keeping the Dutch and Belgian coastline in view on the left side. The landing view on the right is good but the departure left-side show is the highlight of this route.

During takeoff from Hamburg (HAM), sit on the Left side for the best views. Hamburg's main runways (23/05) mean a westbound departure takes you over the city centre and the Elbe river. Left side gives you the Hamburg harbour, Speicherstadt warehouse district, and the broad Elbe sweeping southwest toward the North Sea. Notable sights include: Hamburg Harbour and container terminals, Speicherstadt/HafenCity district, the Elbe river bending southwest, Alster lakes in the city centre.

When landing at Gatwick (LGW), sit on the Right side for the best views. Gatwick's runway 26L/08R means most westerly approaches come in from the east over the Surrey/Sussex countryside. The right side gives you the North Downs ridge, Crawley town, and on clear days the London skyline to the north including Canary Wharf and the City towers on the horizon. Notable sights include: North Downs ridge to the north, Crawley urban area below, M23 motorway corridor, London skyline on the distant northern horizon.

The flight from Hamburg (HAM) to Gatwick (LGW) takes Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes.

The route crosses the southern North Sea, passing over or near the Dutch coast around Den Haag/Rotterdam, then the Belgian coast near Bruges, before crossing the English Channel and entering southeast England over Kent or East Sussex. The Thames Estuary may be visible to the north on clear days during descent.