MINNEAPOLIS - Dozens of people hopped on a flight to Grand Island, Nebraska, to watch the solar eclipse in totality.
Sun Country Airlines chartered the flight. Tickets started at $349 and sold out within six hours.
One hundred and fifty-seven passengers were on board. They headed to the Stuhr Museum, which includes a large prairie, for people to watch the solar eclipse.
"We had a plane on spare, ready to go, and so we had decided what a fun thing to do to offer passengers this fun opportunity," said Kelsey Dodson-Smith, a spokesperson for Sun Country Airlines.
Among those aboard were Matt and Jodi Sargent of Maple Grove and their two children, 7-year-old Piper and 10-year-old Nicholas.
“It was amazing, it was better than we could have ever imagined,” Jodi Sargent said.
Unlike the Twin Cities, the sky over Grand Island was clear for the eclipse.
“When it was 100 percent on the solar eclipse everybody jumped up and started cheering for like three minutes and then it was over,” Nicholas Sargent said.
Piper and Nicholas had not expected to be hopping a flight to Nebraska Monday morning.
"Super excited to surprise the kids and just glad to be able to share this opportunity with them," said Jodi Sargent. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing."
The flight left MSP Airport at 8 a.m. and returned Monday evening.