Delta Air Lines said it will fly a special flight from Austin to Detroit on April 8, 2024, for people to experience the total solar eclipse.
According to Delta, flight 1218 will depart Austin at 12:15 p.m. central time and land in Detroit at 4:20 p.m. eastern time.
It will be flown on an Airbus A220-300, which has extra large windows.
According to NASA, the total solar eclipse's path of totality will stretch from Texas to Maine, just south of Detroit and close to the Detroit-Ohio border.
The point, according to Delta, will be to spend as much time as possible directly within the path of totality.
“This flight 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 Eric Beck, Managing Director of Domestic Network Planning. “Thanks to teams across the company, the idea of viewing a total eclipse from the air will become a reality for our customers.”
Delta said that if you aren't on the special flight, people will still have viewing opportunities on five additional routes on April 8. They 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
