On Thursday, June 10th, Delta Air Lines flew a special Airbus A319 charter. The aircraft provided eclipse-lovers an opportunity to view the spectacular event in the early morning hours before the airline typically starts its scheduled flights out of its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub. After the viewing, the plane returned to Minneapolis, where every passenger landed after the breathtaking experience.
Delta Air Lines flies special Airbus A319 charter
Thursday morning, Delta Air Lines flew a chartered Airbus A319 over Canada with a light load. Chartered by Sky & Telescope, a few dozen lucky eclipse-lovers got to view the annular eclipse after sunrise over southern Canada.
The aircraft left Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP) at 3:15 am local time. Taking just over three hours, the aircraft made its way north, over Minnesota and crossing the Canadian border. Astronomer Glenn Schneider calculated the route. Mr. Schneider has years of experience chasing solar eclipses since the early 1970s. He has been in the path of totality 33 times.
According to data from RadarBox.com, the aircraft spent three hours and 22 minutes in the air. The A319, registered as N351NB, completed the flight and re-entered commercial service with Delta later that evening.
Just after sunrise, Delta Line Check Pilot Art Smith slightly tilted the starboard wing of the aircraft. Tilting the wing downwards allowed passengers seated on the aircraft’s right side an opportunity to witness the annular eclipse in its entirety. No passengers were located on the left side. Passengers got to see the annular eclipse’s trademark “ring of fire.”
The annular eclipse occurs when the moon is near its farther point from Earth. This causes it to appear to be smaller than the sun. As the moon moves between the sun and earth, the moon blocks out much of the sun. This leaves just the sun’s outer ring outside of the moon’s shadow, creating the “ring of fire.”
Preparing for the flight
The viewing of the solar eclipse lasted just over four minutes. After that, the aircraft turned back towards Minneapolis. Over three hours after takeoff, the plane touched down in Minneapolis, flying a chartered scenic flight to nowhere.
The preparation for the flight took plenty of time and training. The pilot, Art Smith, stated the following on training for the flight:
“In order to keep the winglet below the horizon and maintain the desired track, it was determined we needed to fly the aircraft with the autopilot off – thus making it a little more challenging. We ran the profile in the simulator to ensure we had enough rudder authority at 39,000 feet. Once in flight, it worked just as we found in the simulator. It was truly awesome, almost spiritual, to view the eclipse at its full annularity. It really was a ‘ring of fire’ and one of the most incredible sights I’ve been fortunate to see.”
Delta’s various teams had to coordinate for the special flight. MSP-based employees from Airport Customer Services (ACS), TechOps, In-Flight, and more worked to ensure the smooth operations of the flight.
Jeff Hart, General Manager, ACS at MSP, stated the following:
“I was fortunate to be a part of this awesome experience. Due to the complexities of this flight, the MSP team has been engaged in its planning for roughly a month to ensure all went well. The feedback from everyone onboard was over the top. Every customer I spoke with raved about the experience of the eclipse itself as well as how flawlessly it was executed by the Delta team.”
Scenic charters
Scenic charter flights like these are not uncommon in the airline industry. The Qantas Supermoon flight from the end of May is one such example. Charters like this one are also one of the best ways for organizations to allow certain members or interested members of the public to find a way to see these kinds of events. Qantas has also flown a charter to see the awe-inspiring Southern Lights.
Airlines have been running scenic flights to nowhere since the start of the crisis. In regions with heavy travel restrictions, airlines like Qantas, Starlux, Fiji Airways, and ANA have jumped onto the flight to nowhere trend and sought to offer passengers the opportunity to take to the skies.
What do you make of this flight? Did you get an opportunity to fly on this charter? Let us know in the comments!
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