Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Istanbul to Mexico City. The left side misses the Bosphorus departure view but captures the Atlantic crossing over the Azores region and delivers the spectacular volcanic Sierra Nevada arrival into Mexico City. The Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl approach view is one of the most dramatic in commercial aviation and tips the balance decisively to the left.

During takeoff from Ataturk (IST), sit on the Right side for the best views. IST typically departs westward on runway 06/24 or 17/35. A westbound departure on 06 puts the Bosphorus Strait, the Golden Horn, and the historic peninsula of old Istanbul on the right side. You get a clear look at the dense urban grid of Sultanahmet and the Sea of Marmara stretching south. Notable sights include: Bosphorus Strait, Sea of Marmara, Golden Horn inlet, historic Sultanahmet peninsula.

When landing at Licenciado Benito Juarez International (MEX), sit on the Left side for the best views. Mexico City's AICM typically uses runways 05L/23R and 05R/23L. Arrivals from the northeast on heading 230 put the Sierra Nevada volcanic range — including Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl — on the left side as you descend over the eastern Valley of Mexico. These are among the most dramatic approach views in the world. Notable sights include: Popocatépetl volcano, Iztaccíhuatl volcano, Lake Texcoco remnant flats, eastern urban sprawl of Mexico City.

The flight from Ataturk (IST) to Licenciado Benito Juarez International (MEX) takes Approximately 13 to 14 hours non-stop, though this route typically operates with a connection. Direct great-circle routing would be roughly 10,800 km..

The great-circle route from IST to MEX tracks northwest over the Black Sea, crosses the Carpathian Mountains of Romania and Slovakia, passes over Germany and the Netherlands, exits Europe over the British Isles, crosses the North Atlantic at high latitudes passing south of Greenland and Iceland, transits the Canadian Maritime provinces and Quebec, crosses the northeastern United States over New England and the Appalachians, passes over the Gulf of Mexico, and descends into central Mexico over Veracruz and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.