Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Madras to London. The right side wins overall because the Chennai departure gives a genuinely spectacular view of Marina Beach and the coastline that is hard to beat, and during the cruise the right side also faces south over the Arabian Sea, Iran, and the Caucasus region. The London approach views on the left are excellent but brief; the Chennai departure on the right is the more memorable single moment of the flight.

During takeoff from Chennai International (MAA), sit on the Right side for the best views. Chennai airport's primary departure runway 07 sends aircraft northeast over the Bay of Bengal. The right side faces south and southwest, giving you the Chennai city coastline, Marina Beach (one of the world's longest urban beaches), and the city grid before the aircraft banks northwest toward its cruise track. Notable sights include: Marina Beach shoreline, Chennai city grid and port area, Buckingham Canal running parallel to coast, Bay of Bengal coastal waters.

When landing at Heathrow (LHR), sit on the Left side for the best views. Heathrow predominantly uses westerly runways (09L/09R arrivals from the east, or 27L/27R from the west). On the standard approach from the east on runway 27L or 27R, the left side faces south and gives you central London — the Thames, the City, Canary Wharf, and the landmarks along the river as you descend over Surrey and west London. Notable sights include: River Thames snaking through central London, Canary Wharf tower cluster, Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park, M25 motorway ring.

The flight from Chennai International (MAA) to Heathrow (LHR) takes Approximately 10 to 11 hours nonstop.

The route tracks northwest from Chennai across the Indian subcontinent, crossing Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, then over Pakistan and Afghanistan. It then crosses the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains or southern Russia depending on routing, then over Ukraine or Poland airspace (subject to current restrictions routing it further north via the Baltic), and finally descends across the North Sea and southern England. Key features include the Indus River valley, the Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges visible as a vast snow-covered massif, the Caspian Sea as a large inland body of water, and the flat agricultural plains of Eastern Europe.