At 35,000 feet over the U.S. the air was thick with anticipation and excited chatter as everyone pulled out their phones hoping to get a photo.

Gray shadows entered the blue sky, turning it a rich slate as the moon started to eclipse the sun.

The moment everyone had been waiting for was here—totality.

Before even getting into the air Delta Air Lines treated passengers to an experience. As they arrived at gate E15 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for Flight 1010 to Detroit, they were met with a celestial-themed balloon arch, a red carpet and music.

Flight attendants in purple and gray passed out eclipse-viewing glasses the airline produced in collaboration with Warby Parker—paper shades but with blue-and-white star path drawings on the front and "Eyes on the Sky" written inside.

Delta workers wore T-shirts emblazoned with "Climbing the Cosmos," the airline's slogan for the pair of flights from Austin and Dallas that would be in the path of the eclipse 35,000 feet in the air.

People were excited, and the gate party only heightened the anticipation. Most passengers flew to Dallas that morning or the night before just to turn right around, all to experience totality in a way few others could.