Best seat on a plane from East coast USA to Heathrow

I don't think it really matters. The plane will probably be in a holding pattern over London awaiting landing instructions anyway. That has been my experience at any rate.

Landing direction will depend on wind direction which is unpredictable days or even hours out. You might see Windsor, but you might be landing to the west and never come close to it.

Visibility can vary. Simply put, with a ceiling of five hundred feet and a half mile vis, the plane can land but you won't see squat out the side windows.

The holding pattern might be fifty miles out and above a cloud deck.

A center section or an aisle seat will offer just about the same opportunity.

But, odds are, it'll be a landing from the east with about a ten-mile final approach run. If you want to have a minimal chance of seeing something recognizable, get a window seat on the right side in front of the wing root.

Departure point has nothing to do with anything.

Thank you everyone for your input. If it doesn't matter, I guess that's alright. I shouldn't expect much since I'll be flying in December and visibility would probably be quite low.

Guess you didn't know there is a website for this exact question. Has seating maps for every flight on every airline (well, at least it seems that way). Seatguru. Tells you if your seat won't recline, if there is equipment underneath, if you're near the galley or a lav, or if the window doesn't line up. And it's FREEEEEEEEE

Impossible to predict.
LHR has two parallel runways: 09/27 L and 09/27 R.
It means that the alignment is 90 degree on the magnetic north. I.e. they are perfectly aligned East to West.
The approach is always against the wind and the prevailing winds at LHR are westerly (70% of the time).
So if you fly on a day or time when the westerly winds prevail you will be approaching from the East, i.e. from the city (the airport is west of the city).
Coming from North America you will be likely flying from the North-West, approaching the city and turning right above the city before aligning with the 27 R runway. If the turn happens East of the City, then you should get a good view if you are on the right side of the plane, but if the turn happens West of Westminster, then you might get a better view on the left side of the aircraft.

If however, at the time of landing, the Easterly winds prevail, in that case you will be turning toward runway 09 L north west of the airport, basically over Windsor, so you won't be able to see the City at all since it's on the opposite side of the runway you will be approaching.

@Roberto: Thanks for the info. Yeah, I understand that it must be quite unpredictable. So I guess I will either pick left or right and hope that I'll get some decent view. If not, I wouldn't be fussing over it.

I made perhaps a dozen trips from the East coast to London over a one year period, a couple of decades ago. As I remember, there was a better side for London views at that time. I think it was the left side. You would usually come in heading east and get a good view looking north, pass central London, u-turn, head west and get another nice view. These trips were over all seasons. Sometimes the clouds were low but I do remember having a strong preference for one side. Just remember, I'm saying I preferred left (I think) a long time ago, this advice is free and you get what you pay for.

Hello equatorer. I do not have any memory of the views from inside the airplane. In a very large airplane, my seat location preference is :
Left side, or right side, aisle seat, in front of the airplane's wings. I have a tendency to feel clausterphobic (I do not like being in a small space). I feel better if I am at the left side, or right side of the airplane, because I can look toward the side that is a long distance from me. The ride is likely to feel more smooth if a person is seated in front of the wings, not between the wings. Noise from the airplane's jet engines is not a serious problem for me, but there is less noise from the jet engines if a person is seated in front of the wings. And, in every flight, I put wax ear plugs (Mack's brand) in my ears, to cause a reduction of the noise that I hear. If a person is seated at the rear of the airplane, the person waits for a longer time to walk out of the airplane after it has landed. And, I try to avoid being on a seat that is located very near the toilet rooms, because during a flight across the Atlantic Ocean, there is likely to be people standing near those seats, they are waiting to go in a toilet room. During a flight, if a person seated near you is annoying to you (screaming baby, or other noise or annoying behavior) you can ask a flight attendant for permission for transfering to an other seat location, if there is a vacant seat.

POSH. I wouldn't know about the landing approach but Greenland is port outbound and starboard home bound.

equatorer ,

weather will play a part in your seat selection.

i usually take isle seats so that i can come/go at will.

on one flight to LGW, i think it was a short hop, so i had a window seat, but the wind wasn't cooperating and there were some strong cross winds conditions so we were orbiting london for 15+ minutes or at least until the fuel ran out The previous flight landed someplace else.. The skys were clear and you could see a lot especially with the plane orbiting. If you didnt catch it the first time, then you could on the 6,7,8th...time.

good luck and happy trails.

Actually, the North Atlantic Tracks are generated twice daily. They shift position due to traffic flow at time of day and daily/seasonal jet stream position. Traffic in both directions may pass over Greenland and traffic in neither direction may pass over Greenland on any given day.

If this answer is still relevant (i.e. you haven't left yet,) I always pick a J side window. It's a toss up, but usually planes land to the west. You'll be holding and spiralling down to come in from the east, and you'll fly along the Thames from Canary Wharf past Tower Bridge, The City, Westminster, and then over Kew Gardens on a long final approach. Of course the clouds and rain may block your view, but I've had some fab photo opportunities on the right hand side of the plane.

@Ron: Thanks for your insight on the better seats on a plane. Most of the time I would pick the aisle seat because I could at least get up easily to walk about the plane. But this time I wanted a window seat just in case I could capture a view of London upon landing. (The urge to photograph got the better of me)

@Ray: Yes, I do realize the weather can be unpredictable so at this point, I won't be fussing over which side of the plane I'll choose. I'll at least try and capture what I can when the plane is turning or rotating around its axis.

@mincepie: Thanks for your input! For now, I picked the right side of the plane (subjected to change later on), at least I have 50% chance of being on the side with the best view (assuming it's a clear day).