Southwest Offers 8 Flights to See the Total Solar Eclipse
Front-row tickets at a concert or sports game are exhilarating. These events occur frequently, unlike total solar eclipses. That's not something you see every day or
anticipate up close. Good news for science and stargazers: Southwest Airlines has selected eight flights at 30,000 feet to see the next complete solar eclipse in a few months.
After this week's "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse, the next total solar eclipse is April 8, 2024. Southwest runs across Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri
In an Oct. 14 press release, Southwest said its network and schedule planners "modeled the operation day against projections of the umbra and penumbra
shadows cast by the moon's eclipse of the sun" to determine which flights passengers can see the eclipse.
The press release adds that three Southwest planes had "the greatest likelihood of offering Customers onboard the best view of this moment," according to their algorithm.
First is Southwest Flight #1252, which leaves Dallas Love Field Airport (Love Field) at 12:45 p.m. CDT for Pittsburgh.
Southwest Flight #1721, which departs Austin, Texas, at 12:50 p.m. CDT and lands in Indianapolis, is the second best route. The third alternative is Southwest Flight #1910
Southwest says five other alternatives "may also cross the path of totality during their scheduled operating time," if none of the top three work for your spring travel plans.