The upcoming total
solar eclipse, whose path of totality will sweep across areas North America
on April 8, 2024, is driving U.S. travelers to select destinations that will
offer the best viewing of the rare celestial event.
One travel provider,
Alaska
Airlines is facilitating prime viewing opportunities by offering a series
of flights to destinations positioned along the path of totality and, as it
turns out, they’re selling out fast.
In fact, the
carrier has seen a threefold increase in customer demand in comparison to years
past for flights to places like Texas, Ohio and Mazatlán, Mexico, Alaska Airlines
told Travel
+ Leisure.
Due to heightened
interest, flights to these eclipse-optimal locations are increasingly getting
sold out well in advance.
"Travelers
are excited to experience the upcoming solar eclipse and we’ve seen this
reflected in our bookings,” Kirsten Amrine, Alaska Airlines’ Vice President of Revenue
Management and Network Planning.
“Across our
network, flights to destinations along the projected path of the eclipse...are
seeing impressive demand, with many flights selling out months in advance.
“We’ve even added
extra service to Mazatlán, as it's anticipated to have the longest duration of
‘totality’ in our network,” Amrine added, noting that the Mazatlán route
demonstrating the strongest demand originates in Los Angeles.
Additionally,
routes bound for Texas cities have seen a surge in popularity—most notably,
flights to Austin from multiple cities, such as San Jose, Seattle, Portland,
San Francisco and San Diego; to Dallas from Seattle, Portland, and San
Francisco; and to San Antonio from Seattle.
Alaska Airlines
has also observed heightened interest in flights to Cleveland, which is positioned
to experience the eclipse’s totality later in the afternoon. The most
significant spike in demand is for flights departing Seattle and arriving in
the Ohio city.
According to T+L,
Alaska isn’t the only carrier catering to eclipse enthusiasts. Southwest Airlines
is running similar routes to cities that lie in the path of totality and Delta
Air Lines plans to operate a special
solar eclipse flight that chases the phenomenon from Austin to Detroit.
The eagerly
anticipated 2024 total solar eclipse, which is being called the “Great American
Eclipse”, is set to traverse the United States on a path of totality that
passes from Texas to Maine. According to NASA, the next total solar eclipse
visible from the contiguous U.S. won't occur until 2044.
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