How to view the solar eclipse on April 8 from the air: Delta to offer path-of-totality flight and other options
A large swath of the US will be privy to a total eclipse in April but for those that want a truly special view, Delta is offering to see it from the sky.
A total solar eclipse is one of the great astronomical phenomena that people long to see at least once in their life. However, while a total solar eclipse occurs about once every 18 months, the “path of totality” only passes over the same place on average once every 375 years.
Those in the United States have been lucky, with two total solar eclipses occurring relatively close together. The one in 2017 crossed the lower 48 from Oregon to South Carolina and another coming 8 April this year will travel from Texas up to New England. However, there won’t be another opportunity to see a total solar eclipse over North America until 2044.
Fortunately, for those who will be going out to see the 8 April total solar eclipse, it will last more than twice as long as the 2017 event and the path of totality almost twice as wide. This means that a large swath of the United States will be privy to the upcoming total eclipse but for umbraphiles that want a truly special view, Delta is offering a special path-of-totality flight to see it from 30,000 feet in the sky.
How to view the solar eclipse on April 8 from the air: Delta to offer path-of-totality flight and other options
Delta’s umbraphile flight will take off from Austin, Texas and follow the total solar eclipse within the path of totality in-air as it flies to Detroit. In order to give those lucky enough to get a seat on the special DL 1218 flight, the airline said it is using an A220-300 aircraft which has extra-large windows “which will offer especially premium viewing.”
The flight departs at 12:15 pm CT from Austin and lands in Detroit at 4:20 pm ET, “timed to give those on board the best chance of safely viewing the solar eclipse at its peak,” according to Delta.
However, if you cannot get a seat on Delta flight 1218 the airline says that there are five additional routes operating on 8 April that will provide “prime eclipse-viewing opportunities.” If you happen to be on one of these routes, or hop on as an alternative to the special eclipse flight, don’t forget to bring your protective viewing glasses as looking directly at an eclipse outside of “totality” can be extremely damaging to your eyes.
Additional Delta flights with solar eclipse viewing
- DL 5699, DTW-HPN, 2:59 pm EST departure, ERJ-175
- DL 924, LAX-DFW, 8:40 am PST departure, A320
- DL 2869, LAX-SAT, 9:00 am PST departure, A319
- DL 1001, SLC-SAT, 10:08 am MST departure, A220-300
- DL 1683, SLC-AUS, 9:55 am MST departure, A320
How much will tickets cost for Delta’s solar eclipse flight?
Tickets are going fast for Delta’s path-of-totality flight with the Detroit Free Press reporting that Basic Economy seats have already sold out. If you want to spend as much time as possible directly withing the path of totality, you may be able to purchase a seat in the main cabin for $579, Comfort+ tickets are selling for $699, and First Class seats can be had for $1,430 each.
“[Delta flight 1218] is the result of significant collaboration and exemplifies the close teamwork Delta is known for — from selecting an aircraft with larger windows to determining the exact departure time from Austin and the experiences at the gate and in the air,” said Delta Managing Director of Domestic Network Planning, Eric Beck. “Thanks to teams across the company, the idea of viewing a total eclipse from the air will become a reality for our customers.”
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