Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Helsinki to Istanbul. The left side wins overall because the Istanbul approach delivers one of the most spectacular urban aerial views in the world — the historic peninsula, Bosphorus, and Sea of Marmara simultaneously. The takeoff view from the right is good but the Helsinki archipelago is less dramatic than Istanbul's geography.

During takeoff from Helsinki Malmi (HEM), sit on the Right side for the best views. Malmi's primary runway 18/36 means southbound departures head toward Helsinki city center. A right-side seat gives you views over the Helsinki archipelago, the city's eastern harbor districts, and the Gulf of Finland as you climb out heading south-southwest toward Estonia. Notable sights include: Helsinki city center and Senate Square area, Gulf of Finland coastline, Helsinki archipelago islands, Suomenlinna sea fortress.

When landing at Ataturk (IST), sit on the Left side for the best views. Ataturk Airport's main landing direction on runway 06 brings aircraft in from the west over the Sea of Marmara. Left-side seats get the European side of Istanbul including the historic peninsula with the Old City, Bosphorus strait, and the Golden Horn clearly visible during the approach. Notable sights include: Historic peninsula of Istanbul (Sultanahmet, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace area), Bosphorus Strait, Golden Horn inlet, Sea of Marmara.

The flight from Helsinki Malmi (HEM) to Ataturk (IST) takes Approximately 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes.

The route tracks south over the Gulf of Finland and Estonia, then across Latvia and Lithuania, over Belarus or northeastern Poland depending on routing, across Ukraine or Moldova, over the Black Sea coast of Romania and Bulgaria, then descending over Thrace into Istanbul. The Black Sea may be briefly visible on the left side over Bulgaria, and the flat agricultural plains of the Baltic states and Eastern Europe dominate the mid-flight view.