Summary
- Delta Air Lines is offering special flights in April for the rare total solar eclipse on April 8.
- The airline selected the Airbus A220 for the flight to offer higher views, seating 140 passengers near the trail of totality.
- Delta’s A220-300s are busy flying various routes this month, with Seattle to Austin being certainly one of the highest three busiest routes.
Delta Air Lines is planning special flights this April for the full solar eclipse, offering passengers an ideal viewing opportunity of the phenomenon.
Eclipse flight
Total solar eclipses are rare and, in line with the UK’s Natural History Museum, only occur every 18 months. This yr, one is ready to happen on April 8, and Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has planned a special flight for its passengers to have one of the best viewing opportunity. Delta’s Lead Meteorologist, Warren Weston, said that is the last total eclipse to be seen over the Northern Hemisphere until 2044. The flight was planned in order that much time could be spent in the trail of totality.
Photo: Delta
The specially planned flight will leave Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) on April 8 at 12:15 and arrive at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) at 16:20. In line with Delta, it selected the Airbus A220 for the flight for its larger windows and the -300 variant, the larger of the 2 shall be used for flight 1218. 100-forty passengers will find a way to experience the eclipse from the flight.
Delta has five additional flights from which passengers may have great eclipse views, though not ideal, like 1218. The flight information is below:
- DL 5699, Detroit-Westchester County Airport (HPN), 14:59EST departure, Embraer E175
- DL 924, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)-Dallas Fort Price International Airport, 08:40PST departure, Airbus A320
- DL 2869, LAX-San Antonio International Airport, 09:00 PST departure, Airbus A319
- DL 1001, Salt Lake City International Airport-SAT, 10:08 MST departure, Airbus A220-300
- DL 1683, SLC-AUS, 09:55 MST departure, Airbus A320
“This flight is the result of serious collaboration and exemplifies the close teamwork Delta is thought for — from choosing an aircraft with larger windows to determining the precise departure time from Austin and the experiences on the gate and within the air.” – Eric Beck, Managing Director of Domestic Network Planning, Delta Air Lines
Where Delta’s A220-300s are flying
In line with ch-aviation, Delta has 23 A220-300s in its fleet, with a median age of 1.8 years and one other 77 on order. Cirium data shows there are 3,010 roundtrip flights scheduled on the -300 this month. Delta also has 45 A220-100s, 34 of that are currently listed as energetic, and no further deliveries of the smaller variant. As mentioned above, Delta’s -300s seat 140 passengers and are configured in a three-cabin configuration. There are 12 seats in top notch, 30 in Delta Comfort+, and 88 in principal cabin.
Photo: Airbus
Delta’s busiest A220-300 route this month is from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Spokane International Airport (GEG), with 80 flights scheduled in each direction, up to 3 every day roundtrips. Delta deploys the sort from its hub at Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on 155 roundtrip flights this month, also up to 3 every day roundtrips.
Seattle – Austin is the third-busiest route. At 1,769 miles, this route doesn’t even reach half of the A220-300s’ maximum range. This month, there are 131 roundtrip flights on the A220-300 from SEA to AUS.