iStockphoto / Pitris / Boarding1Now
The next total solar eclipse visible from the United States will happen on April 8th and span from southwest Texas up through Maine. Simultaneously, there will be an annular eclipse occurring but that one’s not nearly as cool, right? Certainly not cool enough to merit its own series of Delta eclipse flights from Austin to Detroit.
At first glance, this might seem like a silly use of money but hobbies are hobbies and these Delta eclipse flights are actually reasonable compared to any other exotic travel experience. In a press release, Delta announced these flights were for ‘umbraphiles’ or people who chase eclipses. They announced details of the flights, all of them leaving from Austin to Detroit.
The flagship flight will be Delta flight 1218 which will be operated by an A220-300. Delta says that model of aircraft “will offer especially premium viewing due to the aircraft’s extra-large windows.”
Delta flight 1218 “will depart from Austin at 12:15 p.m. CT and land in Detroit at 4:20 p.m. ET” The flight’s timing and route was perfectly timed to give passengers an extended and long-term view of April’s solar eclipse, the first since August 2017.
The path of the flight will then follow the solar eclipse at its peak from Austin to Detroit. NASA released this map of the total solar eclipse’s path along with the annular eclipse moving from Oregon to Texas:
NASA
As is evident from that map, April’s total solar eclipse is moving from Austin to Detroit between about 1:35 CDT to 3:15 EDT.
In addition to the main flight, Delta will offer up five additional fights for umbraphiles chasing this eclipse… I figured if I used that word again I might be able to commit it to memory… Those flights are:
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
More can be read about these flights in Delta’s press release.
This is the LAST total solar eclipse in the United States until 2044. It will also last for more than twice the length of time as the 2017 total solar eclipse. Not only that, but the path of April’s total solar eclipse will be twice as wide.
Currently, Delta’s eclipse flights can be booked on their website. The fares are running around $579 for a one-way flight according to WFLA.
There is another airline, Southwest, offering eclipse flights similar to Delta’s. Southwest will fire up three flights that are also directly in the path of totality but each of them is going to a different destination. Southwest’s are Dallas-Pittsburgh, Austin-Indianapolis, and St. Louis to Houston. Of course, all of these are on April 8th, the day of the eclipse.
I wanted to think this was all a dumb use of money and gimmicky. I really did. But something about this has ignited an excitement within me for April’s total solar eclipse. I might find my way to the Adirondacks for the path of totality as it passes through upstate New York around 3:30 on April 8th. Who’s coming with me?