JSX Giving Away Free Seats to Witness Solar Eclipse at 30,000 Feet
Eclipse-chasers can enter the sweepstakes until March 15 for a flight that will follow the path of the Great North American Eclipse on April 8
If your stars line up, you could nab a free seat on a JSX flight chasing North America’s social eclipse on April 8.
The semi-private airline is giving away 12 window seats on a once-in-a-lifetime flight following the path of totality, with a space shuttle pilot at the controls.
The eclipse service, Flight 4824, will take off from JSX’s dedicated hangar at Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) at 1:00 PM Central Daylight Time (CDT), shortly before totality.
Photo: Courtesy of JSX
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, temporarily blocking all daylight along a narrow path of totality. The eclipse due on April 8, dubbed the Great North American Eclipse, will cast darkness across Mexico, from Sinaloa to Coahuila, across the United States from Texas to Maine, and from Ontario to Newfoundland in Canada, moving from the southwest to the northeast.
It will be the first total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States since August 2017 and the last until August 2044.
Passengers on the JSX flight will get a ring-side view of the phenomenon as, for two hours, the plane follows the path of totality during its peak shadow casting. All seated in window seats on an Embraer jet, they’ll be protected by complimentary eclipse-viewing glasses and enjoy eclipse-themed cocktails.
Photo: Courtesy of JSX
Retired NASA astronaut and Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Gregory, who piloted the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a 16-day mission in 1995, will be in the cockpit. Gregory, who is currently working for JSX, will provide expert commentary throughout the flight. The plane will land back in Dallas at 3:00 PM.
To win a pair of tickets for the flight, you can enter the sweepstakes online until March 14. Winners will be notified on March 15.
JSX is also working with Dallas Love Field’s Frontiers of Flight Museum to select two children from the local area interested in STEM to board the flight with a guardian.
“With Dallas taking claim as the biggest city in the path of totality, we are thrilled to make this ultra-premium and rare viewing opportunity a reality via JSX,” JSX CEO Alex Wilcox said. “We’re committed to prioritizing safe, simple, joy-filled flights for all and are ecstatic to be able to provide travelers with the ultimate JSX experience in tandem with this once-in-a-lifetime celestial event.”
Photo: Courtesy of JSX
Dallas-based JSX seeks to make private jet travel more accessible, with tickets starting at $249 one-way, comparable to first-class on commercial airlines. In return, passengers get a hop-on service, arriving at the terminal just twenty minutes from departure; business class seating; free beverages and snacks; and high-speed Wi-Fi powered by SpaceX’s Starlink.
But JSX isn’t the only carrier chasing next month’s eclipse. Delta Air Lines quickly sold out its first path-of-totality flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). It subsequently unveiled a second special service, from Dallas to Detroit, on an Airbus A220-300 with larger windows than other narrow-body jets. As of March 8, seats were still available in the main cabin for $949.
Photo: Courtesy of JSX
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines is partnering with Omni Hotels & Resort for a “Solarbration Sweepstakes,” giving away two tickets on one of two flights expected to airborne during the eclipse.
One option is to depart DAL just before the JSX flight and land at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). The second will take off from Austin at 12:55 PM and head to Indianapolis International Airport (IND). The lucky winners will spend nights at Omni hotels in their departure and arrival cities in rooms with custom, cosmic interiors.
