Delta Airlines has announced a special flight through the path of the total solar eclipse.
Delta, Southwest and several private tour companies have special solar eclipse itineraries. The Delta flight will depart Austin, following the eclipse path to Detroit. But the airline also says that at least five regular flights will also offer views of the eclipse. Those flights depart from Detroit, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City.
Southwest has multiple flights on April 8 that will offer views departing from Dallas, Austin, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Houston, Chicago and Nashville.
For about $10,000, you can take a Cessna Citation X jet from Texas to Mexico and back. The three hour experience, offered by TEI Tours and Travel, will let passengers experience 6 minutes and 50 seconds of totality during the three hour flight.
The advantage of seeing the eclipse from the air is that planes fly above the clouds, offering an unobstructed view of the eclipse. The odds of a clear view from the ground were set at about 50/50 in February, according to Smithsonian magazine.
More than 31 million U.S. residents live in the path of totality.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
