Illustrative scenarios
These examples use fictional details to explain the flow. They are not actual FlightAware records or identified sights.
Picture the process
The strongest result is a useful place and time to look, with the uncertainty still visible.
A fictional photo says 10:42, but the camera did not record its UTC offset. You confirm UTC−07:00, so the lookup uses 17:42 UTC. For sample flight EX123, the app marks the plane between two recorded points, then lets you compare the landscape in satellite view.
The image's GPS point and flight-track estimate are 3.2 km apart in this illustration. The app plots both markers and reports the difference. You can keep the original unchanged or save a new copy with the estimated location.
After one successful lookup, Airplane Window remembers the flight's time window on the device. Choose another photo from that period and it can suggest the same flight number. A different photo time is a new lookup; repeating the same flight and exact photo time returns the available stored result without a second debit.
What this still cannot answer: the recorded track does not say which side of the plane your seat was on or where your camera pointed. A nearby place can be plausible without being the object in the photo.
After the lookup
History stores the flight and photo time. Route and position data remain available for a limited period. After positional data expires, a historical lookup can refresh it when FlightAware has a usable track; a successful new lookup uses one credit.
Choosing to share opens the iOS share sheet with a location link and Airplane Window credit. A public details page is optional and time-limited, and it does not upload your photo.
Read the full guideA good next question
Yes. Those details would help turn a broad area around the aircraft into a more useful viewing direction. They are future ideas; the current app shows the flight position and nearby map context.