Last week Delta Airlines announced a specialty flight last week, flight DL1218 from Austin to Detroit, which featured a particular airplane model and flight path to optimize the viewing of the total solar eclipse this spring from the air, and now demand is “sky-high” (pun a little bit intended) so they’ve scheduled another similar-style flight. Given that the seats for flight DL1218 are just about sold out despite their hefty price tag, it was clear to Delta that there was enough demand for them to organize another “path-of-totality flight” from Texas to Michigan.
What you need to know about the total solar eclipse flight from Dallas to Detroit
The flight from Dallas to Detroit will feature an even larger airplane model, an Airbus A321neo, than the plane being used for the “path-of-totality” flight being flown from Austin, which is an Airbus A220-300. The plane is fitted with 132 main cabin seats, a total of 42 ‘Delta Comfort+ seats, and 20 first-class seats, however, the Airbus A321neodoes does not have the same characteristically large windows that the A220-300 has, which means that passengers will be viewing the solar eclipse through airplane windows considered standard-sized as far as modern plane windows are considered.
Why did Delta add another flight to follow the “path-of-totality” during the total solar eclipse?
According to Delta, after their initial announcement of the first flight from Austin to Detroit, online searches increased roughly 1,500% for flights between Austin and Detroit, with a significant number of traffic ending up on flight DL1218. The naturally high demand, given that this will be the last total solar eclipse to hit the continental U.S. until 2045, coupled with the significant attention the flight announcement got from the media, resulted in somewhat of a frenzy to claim a spot on the flight. Now that Delta is aware of the significant demand, they’ve made the effort to capitalize further on it by adding another flight path, so more than just a select few can enjoy the unique experience!
How much will the total solar eclipse flight from Dallas to Detroit cost?
Currently, only Main Cabin seats are available for $979 one-way tickets and Comfort+ tickets are available for $1,050, first-class seats have already been sold out. As we’ve highlighted, the demand is incredibly high and the remaining space is minimal.
For reference, Delta Flight 1041 follows a similar path (same airports: DWF -> DTW) and the prices are set at $264 for a Main Cabin one-way ticket and $334 for a one-way Comfort+ ticket. The difference is quite staggering, but representative of the high demand for the experience of viewing the total solar eclipse from the air!
For those unable to make the flight, according to NASA, Dallas will experience the total solar eclipse between 1:40 and 1:45 pm central time, whereas Detroit will experience roughly 99% of the solar eclipse around 3:10-3:15 pm eastern time.