It's the opportunity of a lifetime and many Indians are not about to miss it. They are making a beeline for a special flight to watch a total solar eclipse next week from 41,000 feet above ground - even if it means shelling out Rs.70,000 for a window seat!

In fact almost 80 percent of the window seats on the chartered flight have already been sold for the July 22 celestial event. SPACE is a Delhi-based organisation working to make science and astronomy popular among youngsters. A 70-year-old gentleman and our youngest is an 11-year-old girl.

'We have received a very good response for the eclipse flight. There have been inquiries and bookings from all over the country. After all, this is a once in a lifetime event. We have almost 80 percent sellout on our sun side seats,' Karan Anand, head of relationships and supplier management, Cox and Kings India.

A JetLite 737-700 has been chartered for people to watch the century's longest solar eclipse. The flight will last three hours. It will take off from New Delhi at 4.30 a.m., fly towards Gaya in Bihar and hover over the city while the eclipse is on. Gaya is one of the regions where the eclipse will be total.

The aircraft window seats have been divided into two categories. The sun side seats are the 21 window seats on the right side of the aircraft. The sun side seats are priced at Rs.79,000 while the earth side are being sold for Rs.29,000 each.

'The aircraft will be intercepting the middle of the eclipse shadow at 6.26 a.m. at a height of 41,000 feet. Eclipse chasers sitting along the sun side seats will be able to photograph the eclipse, while the chasers sitting along the earth side seats will be able to photograph the lunar shadow moving over the earth,' said.

The total eclipse is expected to last six minutes and 44 seconds, making it the longest till 2132. It is starting at sunrise near Surat in Gujarat.