Chasing the Eclipse
The total solar eclipse Aug. 21 was impressive to see from the ground (with special glasses, of course), but a planeload of specially invited Alaska Airlines passengers got a unique view of the eclipse from the air.

Working with astronomers, a team of Alaska Airlines pilots plotted a flight path that took a Boeing 737-900 from Portland, Ore., out over the Pacific Ocean to intercept the eclipse at a point that gave passengers a perfect view of totality just off the wing tip on the right side of the plane.

It wasn’t the first time the airline went way out of its way to chase an eclipse. In March 2016, eclipse-chasers convinced the airline to change the path of a regularly scheduled flight from Anchorage (ANC) to Honolulu (HNL) so passengers could view an eclipse.

Bye-Bye 747
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are making the most of the retirement of their iconic Boeing 747 aircraft.

Delta plans to retire all the 747s in its fleet by the end of 2017 and customers and employees have paid tribute to the aircraft with festivities on various flights, including the recent final flight of the 747 on the airline’s Tokyo (NRT) to Honolulu route.

United Airlines planned a special 747 retirement event Tuesday, Nov. 7, when United Flight 747 will fly from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu. The airline plans to recreate its first 747 flight, aboard the “Friend Ship,” which took place July 23, 1970.  The retirement flight will have a 1970s-inspired menu, flight attendants dressed in retro uniforms and special entertainment. Seats on the special one-way flight sold out within a couple of hours.

Icelandair Tries Immersive In-Flight Theater
Icelandair tried something new in September: in-flight entertainment that consisted of an 11-hour immersive theater production that took place on a flight from London (LHR) to New York (JFK), with an on-the-ground bonus performance during a layover in Reykjavik (KEF).

The cast was a mix of professional actors from a London theater group, Gideon Reeling, and real airline employees, including pilots, engineers, ground workers and cabin crew who attended a special stage school.

The characters ranged from film stars and flight attendants from various decades to a volcanologist, a ram farmer and a pair of hippies. The plot was built around Icelandair’s 80-year history, its can-do philosophy and themes of empowerment for women. And the “show” took place in the airports, at the gates and on board as characters mingled with passengers, telling stories about their role in the airline and in an eclectic extended family.