LATAM Airlines’ Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 never bore so appropriately its nickname. Last Tuesday, the EFLIGHT 2019-MAX (LA1296) flew in the shadow of a total solar eclipse at an altitude of 12,500 meters (41,010 ft) over the Pacific Ocean. Travelling at a speed of 900 kilometers per hour (486 kt), LATAM’s aircraft followed the eclipse, allowing the passengers on board to experience a complete darkness for more than 8 minutes. That is three times more tant the 2 minutes 30 that could be experienced on the ground.

The aircraft took off from Mataveri airport in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and directed toward North-West for 2 hours and a half to position itself by East, on the eclipse trajectory, before to get back on Easter Island after a total travel of 5 hours and a half. It has on board more than 50 passengers from 10 different countries. Among them, scientists, astronomes as well as people simply passionate about eclipses. Dr. Glenn Schneider, astronome at Arizona University participated to the planning of the flight and also registered its 35^th total solar eclipse. A record for the Guinness book.

LATAM Airlines committed to reduce its carbon footprint and decided to compensate the emissions of the EFLIGHT 2019-MAX through a reforestation project at Madre de Dios, in the Peruvian Amazon.