I’ll admit it: the unpredictability of flying Space-A stateside scares the tar out of me.
It goes like this – I love free (or even cheap) things. LOVE them. But I also love having a plan. And the idea of dragging myself to a “passenger terminal” at a nearby base hours before a flight is scheduled to leave, hoping to get a seat on it to a place that there might, at some point in the next several days, be a plane with a seat for me to the place I really want to go makes me incredibly nervous.
And then there’s the trip home. Just because planes go into where I want to go from somewhere near me does not mean they return to where I came from in anything approaching a similar pattern. I fear I could be flying around the US with my cranky toddler for weeks, out of snacks and really short on patience … all for a “free” flight.
Yikes.
According to the Air Force, however, the Space-A travel system is about to get a tiny bit more predictable with the launching of individual passenger terminal Facebook pages. Until recently an “unofficial” but fairly straight forward site was the only source of any reliable information. A phone call to the terminal could confirm any changes in flights or seat availability.
Now the terminals will be managing their own Facebook pages with the same information, as well as details on what has happened in the past.
For example, you’ll be able to see what Space-A flights left Joint Base Lewis-McChord this week, how many seats each of those had on them and when the people who got those seats signed-up for them. By viewing that information you might be able to guess what sorts of flights will be happening in the future and how many seats those will have.
If that counts as “more predictable,” I’ll take it.
Before you get all excited about hoping on a free military flight to somewhere warm (because that’s what I’m thinking about right now), there are rules about who can and cannot fly Space-A. You can find them here.
The Air Force said each terminal should already have or will be posting shortly their passenger terminal page on Facebook. They said you can find yours by searching on Facebook for the name of your base plus the words “passenger terminal.” I easily found JBLM’s, but couldn’t find anything for Fort Campbell (where a recent JBLM flight was headed).
Of course, not everyone feels super nervous flying Space-A like I do. I have a friend who absolutely loves it, and has taken several flights that way to visit her family in Alaska, saving thousands of dollars on airfare for herself and her five children. That’s a definite win.
Any Space-A experts out there who want to share their tips or reasons why I should fly this way and not run scared in the other direction?
About Amy Bushatz
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I haven't used Space-A travel yet for exactly the reasons mentioned. Maybe I'll give it a shot one day but right now I'd rather just pay for a plane ticket because peace of mind is worth A LOT to me, especially when travelling. But if the system works for others and they take advantage of it, more power to them.
I remember when travelingback to CONUS in the early 1990's ( sounds like acient history!) of being left on the tarmac in Iceland…..in winter….finally got back to Home via Andrews AFB. Space-A is not a flight…its an ADVENTURE!! another thing that people DON'T look at are the Reserve and National Guard flights that fly ALL over the U.S. all the time Plus also consider that Guard/ Reserves in some states DO have lodging Facilities…I stayed at Camp Fretted outside of Baltimore in a Log house…A LOG HOUSE, FOR $17 DOLLARS A NIGHT!! But you have to call the state Guard base or reserve unit to see what facilities they have available!!! It's a crap-shoot…sometimes you win and sometimes you loose out.
My family used to "hop" from Frankfurt to Baltimore, MD or Dover AFB all of the time. We were stationed there for 3 years and always got a flight out and a flight back – no issues. I guess it all depends on where you need to go…….
I usta get hops…I'm a 100% service connected vet, The V.A. gave me this back in 1976…Is there a way i can enjoy this again? I go overseas and it's a very frugal trip.
The only problem is that retirees are Category VI or VII (the last category) and everyone gets a seat before you. Also, there may be a plane available and you think that you will be on it and they put some hazardous cargo on it at the last minute and all the seats are lost. From the West Coast, everyone is trying to get to Hawaii and once there, you will experience a hard time getting back home. You must be prepared to pay for a one way ticket on a commercial flight.
I am Retired USAF and I'm reading this as I sit at my beachfront bungalow on Kow Samoi Island Thailand. My goal after retiring from the Air Force was to work for and retire from a major commercial carrier and I did just that. I havent used Space A once since retiring. I still fly stand-by but it comes with so many more travel options.
If you have kids, Space A isn’t worth the hassle. Yes, you may want to save the $, but it’s STRESSFUL! Not to mention expensive when you get stuck somewhere and have to buy commercial tix to get home, plus hotel and meals while you wait unless you are lucky enough to have friends in the area that can put you up.
My husband is in the Navy medical program. He went to med school, did his AD payback time, and is now in (civilian) residency and the 'active reserve'. We used Space A a couple times while on AD, but now we are trying to figure out if we qualify for Space A in our current status. It seems to be somewhere in between AD and Reserves. Anyone familiar with this? We would appreciate any info you might be able to provide. Thanks!
My husband was stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the late 90's. We had a 3 month old son and it was our first assignment. I was from a small town in Florida and it was my first time living away from my parents. Hubby's deployments were erratic and long, so once I found out about the Space A program, I took full advantage of it. (So much so, that I earned the title of "Space A Queen)!
When my "sponsor letter" came close to expiring, we'd put in another request. I highly recommend doing this because they use that date if two dependents are eligible, they use the one who's letter has been in the longest. I must say that I was scared to death every trip I made but the facilities at RAF Mildenhall were clean and comfortable, loaded with toys along with recliners, sofas and TV. Every
airport we ever went thru had USO stations that treated us like royalty. Yes, there were long waits sometimes but that happens with civilian airlines. Everytime my husband would deploy to Operation Northern Watch, my son and I would escape the cold rain of England to the sunny beaches of Florida for a coupla months. We made SEVEN trips (fourteen crossings) from England to the U.S. and back during that assignment! As a family, we used Space A to travel Europe on vacations. We never had any significant problems, due to my experience and my husband's good planning. I laugh at myself now for
having stressed so much over the "reliability" of Space A travel…because just how "reliable" is the civilian airlines these days? Anytime I ran into difficulties flying Space A, I was given way more consideration than I have ever been given flying civilian! I felt much more secure and safe because I was travelling with military members who look out for their own even if we are strangers. I am thankful that we have this option as military members. I also know that flying Space A isn't necessarily the BEST option in every situation. I would suggest careful research and comparison of both options but most of all-Ask questions! We asked everybody we came into contact with at work, around base and on the phone. The answers and opinions were varied but gave us a wealth of information to prepare me for the worst so I could hope for the best. I hope this helps and Good Luck! :)
having stressed so much over the "reliability" of Space A travel…because just how "reliable" is the civilian airlines these days? Anytime I ran into difficulties flying Space A, I was given way more consideration than I have ever been given flying civilian! I felt much more secure and safe because I was travelling with military members who look out for their own even if we are strangers. I am thankful that we have this option as military members. I also know that flying Space A isn't necessarily the BEST option in every situation.
I would suggest careful research and comparison of both options but most of all-Ask questions! We asked everybody we came into contact with at work, around base and on the phone. The answers and opinions were varied but gave us a wealth of information to prepare me for the worst so I could hope for the best. I hope this helps and Good Luck! :)
I would suggest careful research and comparison of both options but most of all-Ask questions! We asked everybody we came into contact with at work, around base and on the phone.
Ask lots of questions. We asked everybody around about their experiences with Space A. The answers and opinions were varied but gave us a wealth of information to prepare me for the worst so I could hope for the best. I hope this helps…Good Luck!