Spectacular flight through a full solar eclipse over the Arctic on 1 April 2008

Friday, 1 August 2008 will see a full solar eclipse moving from the Arctic region across Russia and China. This unique and rare phenomenon was last observed in Germany in 1999. The next full solar eclipse here will only happen on 3 September 2081. We are delighted to bring you closer to this eclipse over the remote Arctic region than anybody else, with a guarantee for clear skies and good views. On 1 August a special flight in co-operation with LTU will take you directly up there!

The flight routing

After an early morning departure from Dusseldorf our aircraft, a state-of-the-art Airbus A330 operated by LTU / Air Berlin will head in a northerly direction. Passing Hamburg and the island of Sylt we will fly directly towards Norway. Our route will take us along the alpine West Coast up to the city of Tromso, already in the Arctic region. From there, our flight continues across the Barents Sea and around 1,000 km north of the North Cape we will reach the Svalbard Archipelago, a region the size of Ireland and of unique beauty and remoteness, covered by glaciers and surrounded by icebergs. As highlight of the flight we will join the total shadow of the full solar eclipse and follow its course.

For around three minutes, our Airbus will be surrounded by complete darkness in the middle of the day - an experience you will never forget! The darkened sun will be perfectly visible from a flight altitude of more then 10,000 meters as no clouds will be in the way. Additionally, the time you have to observe the eclipse will be longer than on the ground, as we are moving in the same direction as the total shadow at fast pace. Ideal conditions to observe and film the eclipse.

After the shadow has passed us, we will return on course back to Northern Norway and overfly Sweden and Denmark on our way back to Dusseldorf where we will touch down again after a total flying time of 11 hours hours at around 17:00h.

A large part of the sun-facing seats aboard the flight has already been assigned to scientists from all over the world for observations. Among them is Dr. Glenn Schneider (University of Arizona and NASA), one of the leading astronomists worldwide. We are happy to offer you a limited number of seats now on both sides of the aircraft, the one facing the sun and the one facing away from the sun.

You will have the direct view of the darkened sun only from the sun-facing side of the aircraft. However, the darkening of the sky and the moving shadow can just as well be observed from the side facing away from the sun.
Apart from the spectacular flight through the eclipse, all passengers - no matter which side of the aircraft they sit in - will be able to enjoy views of the Arctic Region (such as Svalbard or Greenland) as on all our Polar flights. We do want to make you aware though of the fact that unlike on our regular North Pole flights, the North Pole itself will probably not be reached on this flight as the main goal is reaching the eclipse.

Booking classes and ticket fares

Deutsche Polarflug offers a variety of different booking classes on our exclusive Eclipse flight.

Economy Basic

You will be assigned an inner seat (D, E, F, G). Throughout the flight (quiet weather conditions permitting) you can move around the cabin and enjoy views through the freely accessible windows on the aircraft side FACING AWAY FROM THE SUN. Observation through the windows facing the sun will only be allowed sitting on your seat, as these windows facing the sun will be used by scientists for their observations.

EUR 666,-

Economy Classic

You will have your assigned seat in the outer section of the aircraft on the side FACING AWAY FROM THE SUN above the wings (Rows 18-33). From here you have a very good view throughout the flight. When travelling together, we recommend to combine window and aisle seat next to each other,
Window Seat (A): EUR 1.299,-
Aisle Seat (C): EUR 999,-

OFFER FOR THE SUN-FACING SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT: ONLY FEW SEATS LEFT!

Rows 26/28/30/31HK EUR 3,499,-
(price is for the whole row)

Economy Premium

You will be assigned a seat FACING AWAY FROM THE SUN in the outer section of the aircraft in front of or behind the wings (Rows 14 and 36). You will enjoy perfect views throughout the flight. When travelling together, we recommend to combine window and aisle seat.
Window Seat (A): EUR 1.899,-
Aisle Seat (C): EUR 1.449,-

OFFER FOR THE SUN-FACING SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT: ONLY FEW SEATS LEFT!

Rows 38/46/48 HK: EUR 4,199,-(price is for the whole row)

Economy Premium "Special"

You will be assigned a seat with extra legroom on the side FACING AWAY FROM THE SUN in the outer section of the aircraft in front of or behind the wings (Rows 14 and 36). You will enjoy both perfect views and additional legroom throughout the flight. When travelling together, we recommend to combine window and aisle seat.
Window Seat (A): EUR 1.999,-
Aisle Seat (C): EUR 1.699,-

Polar Comfort Class

Our absolute Premium Product! Relax in your comfortably Business Class seat (Rows 1-4) on the side FACING AWAY FROM THE SUN and enjoy premium inflight service Only a limited number of seats in this booking class will be available for free sale. When travelling together, we recommend to combine window and aisle seat.
Window Seat (1-4 A): EUR 2.699,-
Aisle seat outer section (1-4 C): EUR 2.399,-
Inner section (1-4 DG): EUR 1.999,-
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