Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Istanbul to London. The right side delivers the most dramatic single moment of the flight: the Bosphorus, both bridges, and the Istanbul skyline during climb-out are genuinely spectacular and hard to beat. The landing approach on the left is pleasant but relatively ordinary English countryside. Right side wins overall for the Istanbul departure alone.

During takeoff from Ataturk (IST), sit on the Right side for the best views. IST departures heading west on runway 06/24 or 17/35 give the right side a clear view over the Marmara Sea and the Istanbul city skyline including the historic peninsula. The Bosphorus strait and its bridges are visible to the right as the aircraft climbs and banks northwest. Notable sights include: Bosphorus Strait with Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Bosphorus bridges, historic Istanbul peninsula with Sultanahmet, Sea of Marmara, Prince's Islands.

When landing at Gatwick (LGW), sit on the Left side for the best views. Gatwick predominantly uses runway 08L/26R, with arrivals from the east on heading 260. On left-side seats during approach from the east, passengers see the North Downs, the Surrey Hills, and the urban sprawl of south London ahead. The right side faces open farmland to the south with less of interest. Notable sights include: Surrey Hills and North Downs escarpment, Crawley town below, M23 motorway corridor, south London suburbs on the horizon.

The flight from Ataturk (IST) to Gatwick (LGW) takes Approximately 3 hours 30 minutes.

The route tracks northwest over Bulgaria and Romania, crossing the Danube River near Bucharest, then over the Carpathian Mountains of central Romania and Hungary. The flight passes over Austria and southern Germany before crossing into France over Alsace, then the English Channel near Calais before descending into southeast England.