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      Ay Corona! Solar Eclipse Sightseeing From a Plane

      August 24, 2015  | Written by Caroline Ku
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      Passengers on a Lufthansa flight wore eye protection before staring into the total solar eclipse.

      Earlier this year, an easyJet flight departing London for Reykjavik – that should’ve taken no more than 90 minutes – was delayed by over an hour; nothing unusual about a flight delay, except none of the passengers seemed to mind – some, were even caught smiling.

      “We have had a tide of extremely positive reactions from passengers, commending our crews,” said an easyJet spokesperson. “For some passengers this may be a once in a generation experience.”

      That “once in a generation” experience was a slight detour taken by easyJet flights departing Manchester and Belfast for Keflavík International Airport in Iceland on March 20 to give passengers a glimpse of the total solar eclipse at 38,000 feet, just above the clouds, for an unobstructed view.

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      Passengers onboard Lufthansa’s Chicago-Munich Flight LH435 were also treated to a sighting of the celestial event on that same day. “As some of you might already know. Today’s flight is going to be unique,” the pilot announced over the speaker system before the peak moment of the event which was entirely captured on video. “We will be flying a little detour over Iceland to chase the core of tomorrow’s total solar eclipse above the clouds,” he said.

      To better see the eclipse, cabin lights were shut off and the aircraft flew in darkness. Flight crew distributed information pamphlets and cardboard shades to passengers to provide scientific context for the total solar eclipse. But while the detours were a surprise for passengers, easyJet and Lufthansa both say they were completely safe and carefully orchestrated.

      For those who wished for a guaranteed sighting of the total solar eclipse, which occurs from any single place on earth, every 360 years or so, Jet2.com sold seats for £1,399 ($2,000) a row (entitling every group of passengers to a window seat). The Omega Holidays-operated flight, which departed from Glasgow, saw a total of 57 passengers, some of whom traveled from the US just for the event.

      panstarrsAnd to celebrate National Astronomy Day in Germany, airberlin offered the first ever comet observation flight on March 16, 2013 for a peek of the PanSTARRS comet. The two-hour flight organized by Bonn-based travel agency Eclipse Reisen took off from Cologne Bonn Airport and was treated with much fanfare. Passengers were welcomed onboard with a Rhineland-style buffet of sweet and savoury snacks, and an astronomy expert was made available to answer passengers’ questions. Tickets were sold at ‚¬359 ($385) with only 88 of the 144 seats filled so everyone could have a window seat.

      For lower-altitude action, Nordic Visitor Day Tours operates flights over the Holuhraun lava field where one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Icelandic history took place on August 29, 2014. While the volcano is no longer spewing hot lava, passengers still book flights to see the cooling lava field and newly formed ground.

      Flying high above obstructing clouds makes it much easier for photographers to capture celestial wonders too. For more on airborne astrophotography, read “Astro Boy,” in the latest issue of APEX Experience magazine, The Design Issue.