Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from San Antonio to New York. While the right side wins at takeoff for the San Antonio skyline, the left side delivers the more dramatic payoff on approach into JFK with Jamaica Bay, the Manhattan skyline on the horizon, and the Verrazano Bridge. Over the mid-flight cruise, both sides are roughly equivalent across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Appalachians, but the left side also catches the Appalachian ridgelines of Virginia and Maryland more directly as the flight tracks northeast.

During takeoff from San Antonio International (SAT), sit on the Right side for the best views. SAT's primary departure runway 13R sends aircraft southeast before turning northeast, putting the right side over downtown San Antonio and the San Antonio River corridor. You get a clear look at the downtown skyline, the Tower of the Americas, and the sprawling urban grid before the city gives way to the Texas Hill Country. Notable sights include: Downtown San Antonio skyline, Tower of the Americas, San Antonio River corridor, Texas Hill Country terrain to the north.

When landing at John F Kennedy International (JFK), sit on the Left side for the best views. JFK arrivals typically come in from the southwest on runway 22L or from the west on runway 31L. A southwest approach puts the left side over Jamaica Bay, the Rockaway Peninsula, and then the full sweep of Lower Manhattan and the Hudson River as you descend. The right side faces inland toward Queens residential neighborhoods. Notable sights include: Jamaica Bay and Rockaway Peninsula, Lower Manhattan skyline, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn waterfront.

The flight from San Antonio International (SAT) to John F Kennedy International (JFK) takes Approximately 3 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 50 minutes.

The flight tracks northeast over the Texas Hill Country, then crosses the Louisiana bayou country and the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge or Natchez. It continues over Mississippi and Alabama, crossing the Tennessee River valley, then over the Appalachian Mountains through Virginia and West Virginia where the parallel ridgelines of the Valley and Ridge province are clearly visible from altitude. The flight then descends over the Mid-Atlantic coastal plain through Maryland and Delaware before approaching New York from the southwest.