Delta adds another solar eclipse flight after first sells out

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Delta Air Lines is adding another special flight to its schedule to give passengers a view of the April 8 solar eclipse from the air.

Last week, the airline announced that a flight from Austin to Detroit will spend “as much time as possible” in the path of totality. That flight sold out in less than 24 hours.

On Monday, however, Delta announced the addition of a second flight for “astronomy lovers,” this time leaving from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Delta flight 1010 will leave DFW at 12:30 p.m. CT and arrive approximately three hours later in Detroit — the same destination as the flight leaving Austin.

The Dallas-Detroit route will be operated on a larger plane than the Austin flight “to allow more customers to experience the eclipse path of totality,” a Delta spokesperson said.

Tickets for the flight are already on sale on Delta’s website. As of Wednesday morning, there were still seats available in the Main and Comfort+ sections.

Five other Delta flights that day will also have opportunities to view the eclipse from the air, according to Delta:

• DL 5699 — Detroit to Westchester, NY (DTW-HPN), 2:59 p.m. ET departure (ERJ-175)
• DL 927 — Los Angeles to Dallas (LAX-DFW), 8:40 a.m. PT departure (A320)
• DL 2869 — Los Angeles to San Antonio (LAX-SAT), 9 a.m. PT departure (A319)
• DL 1001 — Salt Lake City to San Antonio (SLC-SAT), 10:08 a.m. MT departure (A220-300)
• DL 1683 — Salt Lake City to Austin (SLC-AUS), 9:55 a.m. MT departure (A320)

In addition to Delta, Southwest has three flights directly in the path of totality.

• SWA 1252 — Dallas to Pittsburg (DAL-PIT), 12:40 p.m. CT departure
• SWA 1721 — Austin to Indianapolis (AUS-IND), 12:50 p.m. CT departure
• SWA 1910 — St. Louis to Houston (STL-HOU), 1:20 p.m.. CT departure

The following Southwest flights may also cross the path of totality during their scheduled flight time:

• SWA 955 — Dallas to Chicago, (DAL-MDW), 12:50 p.m. CT departure
• SWA 506 — Milwaukee to Dallas (MKE-DAL), 1:05 p.m. CT departure
• SWA 1734 — Houston to Indiana (HOU-IND), 1:35 p.m. CT departure
• SWA 1682 — Chicago to Austin (MDW-AUS), 1:30 p.m. CT departure
• SWA 3108 — Nashville to Dallas (BNA-DAL), 1:40 p.m. CT departure

The airline is also running a Solarbration Sweepstakes contest to give two winners and a guest round-trip tickets on either SWA 1252 or SWA 1721. The prize package includes accommodations for two nights in an “eclipse-themed hotel room” at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh or Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis. The sweepstakes is open through 11:59 p.m. March 11.