Sky Briefing #018 — Near-Total Lunar Eclipse and Korean Air Returns to Melbourne
In the early hours of August 28 UTC, Earth’s shadow will cover 96 percent of the moon. Not a total eclipse — but close. On a westbound night flight over the Atlantic you watch it go dark and turn a bruised reddish-brown, and you have the window to yourself. The rest of the week has three route announcements that actually deliver.
Skies
96 percent lunar eclipse on August 28: westbound Atlantic flights have the best seat in the house. Maximum coverage lands around 04:00 UTC August 28 — squarely in the window of overnight flights like FRA–JFK or LHR–EWR crossing the North Atlantic that night. The Americas see it in full; Europe and Africa catch the early phases just before the moon sets. On board: shade up, cabin lights off, ten minutes for your eyes to adjust. The moon will not turn blood red — 4 percent of the surface stays lit by penumbral light — but dark brownish-crimson it will go. That is enough. Space.com — What to see in the night sky in August 2026
Aviation
Korean Air returns to Melbourne on December 18, after 13 years away. A Boeing 787-9, three times weekly (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday): KE409 departing Seoul Incheon at 08:00 local, arriving Melbourne at 20:30. The route has been dormant since 2013. The launch date is not accidental — the Korean Air–Asiana merger closes formally on December 17, and the first Melbourne flight departs 24 hours later. Seasonal service runs through March 14, 2027. Anyone who has been routing MEL–ICN through Singapore or Tokyo now has a direct option. AeroTime — Korean Air launches seasonal Seoul-Melbourne flights between Dec 2026 and Mar 2027
American Airlines is bringing seatback screens back, but not before 2028. The airline spent years defending its decision to skip displays on narrowbody jets. Now it has announced 4K screens with Bluetooth headphone pairing and USB-C fast charging at every seat. New deliveries arrive screen-equipped from 2028; the existing narrowbody fleet gets retrofitted in the early part of the next decade. Timing that deserves a raised eyebrow: the last screens were removed from the A319s just weeks before this reversal. Your own iPad still runs the show for 2026 and 2027. American Airlines Newsroom
Alaska Airlines is putting Seattle–Athens on the map for May 2027. Three times weekly SEA–ATH from May 12, five times weekly SEA–CDG from May 25, both on Boeing 787-9 with 34 business class suites. Athens becomes the longest route in Alaska Airlines history. Before this, every flight from the West Coast to Athens required a connection in New York, Philadelphia, or a European hub. Alaska also becomes the first oneworld carrier with a nonstop West Coast–Paris Charles de Gaulle service. Good for Seattle. Slightly less good for the hubs people used to have no choice but to use. Alaska Airlines Newsroom
because you need to know which window seat turns into a cinema seat on the night of August 27.