Space A Travel

[jeninsd]

Has anybody used Space A travel to go on vacation? What has been your experience?

We were thinking about having a travel adventure when DH gets home from deployment but I am a little skeptical.

Thoughts?

[Mrz. Robinson]

I want to so I will be keeping up with this thread to get info also. They always say if you have the time to spare do it because it could take days to get a flight

[Genna]

I wrote this up after I flew Space A to go see DH in Guam. I did a TON of research, so I can try and answer your questions!

Destination: Anderson AFB, Guam from Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Passengers: Me and my 3 and 4 year old boys. The adventure started Thursday, Sept 3rd- we had everything packed and ready to go and we were at the terminal about 20 minutes before roll call. A friend showed up to help (thank you!) and we got my luggage into the terminal. Note: Get there earlier so you KNOW you can get a luggage cart, there were none left and I don't know what I would have done without my friend! Roll call starts and they call my name and we find out that we need birth certificates- in all the research I had done, and all the people I spoke to, NO one had mentioned this. So we couldn't get on the flight and we were pretty bummed. But I reminded myself that I knew that this was not guaranteed and we would try again tomorrow! *Got home, kept everything packed, found birth certificates!* Friday, Sept 4th- Roll call kept getting pushed back from 0840 to 1855. So we showed up around 1800 and the boys ate dinner while we waited for roll call. We got selected for the flight! After roll call you go through agriculture and wait in line for boarding passes. This was interesting with two over tired, wired little boys- but the other passengers were SO helpful and understanding, as were the staff at the terminal. Then it was waiting time- eventually we went through security (just like commercial airports- take your shoes off, go through the metal detector) and we sat in a smaller waiting area. Everybody got comfortable and we hung out for a while. We were then told that the plane had a minor issue and we would be waiting for a while longer, and we got ushered back into the main terminal. The staff didn't seem to have much hope for us leaving that night, as these planes have a reputation for being broken (C-5, especially the ones from Tennessee!) As soon as I was told not to get my hopes up, someone from the plane ran in and said they were ready to go! We had to go BACK through security, and then they loaded us on the bus. I had car seats and a couple carry ons and I was SO thankful to have one really helpful guy who carried stuff for me, entertained my kids and just really helped out the whole time. Once on the plane they briefed us on safety procedures and handed out ear plugs. It is *really* loud, and the temperature is weird- the back was really hot and the front was really cold. So we were fanning our kids off while others were wearing sweatshirts. Lesson: be prepared for anything!! We finally left at about 2345 on Thursday. Saturday, Sept 12- The way home- Guam to Hawaii We had a 2055 roll call for a C-5, and got there early, about 1930. The Anderson AFB terminal is really nice- a play room and a big tv you can put DVD's on, lots of vending machines and lots of room. There is even a nursery with cribs for kids under 18 months. At roll call there was only us and one other couple- so a total of 5 passengers. We were told they were expecting to board around 2415. They also said we were going to make a quick stop in Saipan to drop off some cargo. After a long night after the mission changing multiple times, boarding times changing many times- we finally boarded the plane at 0530. Yes- we were stuck in the terminal for 10 hours!! Again- be prepared for ANYTHING. Thankfully my husband was with me that whole time so I didn't go too crazy. We boarded, and had a quick flight to Saipan. This was interesting- they made us get off the plane while they unloaded, but they didn't have anywhere for us to go. They basically kicked us off onto the runway and told us to stand there. We didn't have passports so we couldn't enter the airport, but the runway was a pretty dangerous (and hot!) place. Finally a guy from the security operations at the airport (it wasn't a military base, just a regular airport) loaded the five of us into a pickup truck where we waited for about 45 minutes. I really think the flight crew would have just left us on the runway the whole time. Lesson: Passengers are NOT the priority, mission is everything! From Saipan we had a 8.5 hour flight, uneventful but lonnnngg. Lessons learned: *Be prepared for ANYTHING *Passengers are NOT the priority!! *If you are traveling alone with kids, try to bring as few carry ons as possible- it was SO difficult to bring the car seats AND back packs, AND computer bag. On the way home I knocked it down to one back pack for each of us and I checked the car seats. *Military guys are amazingly helpful- they are the ones who helped me each time and I don't know what I would have done without them!! *Check the schedules religiously- I was at the terminal at least once a day for a week for the 72 hour schedule, and checked the 24 hour phone recording every couple of hours. But once you are in the 24 hour window, don't just trust the recording- make sure you call and talk to a person because the schedule changes at the drop of a hat! The people at the counter are very helpful and would rather you call them a million times than come in and complain about the schedule changing last minute. *Make sure you have ALL the proper paperwork before hand! (Birth certificates for within the US (and Guam!) and Passports for international) *Bring a full meal to eat in the terminal- you could be there for 3-12 hours! Sorry this is so long, I hope it helps someone. It was definitely an exhausting adventure- but it was a FREE adventure and totally worth it to hang out with my husband for a week!

[Mrz. Robinson]

Thanks alot. we have PCS to germany and I have finally got all the paper work to have my dog sent over. WIll I be able to bring him back with us on space a if you know of

[Genna]

I am almost positive that you can NOT bring your animals Space A- because you have no clue how long you will be stuck in terminals, or stuck on the plane or if you will even get where you are going.

[BubMunkeyBles]

If your time is defined Space A is not the way to go. If you have a fair amount of flexibility it can work well. Always have money as a back up in case you really need to fly back. I have friends who will get to the states but find it impossible to catch a flight back overseas (where they're DH's are stationed) so they have to pay for a ticket.

[jeninsd]

Thanks, I appreciate the info!