Any Space A travelers out there

Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
If you know what Space A means then I'm talking to you.

THis year in May I made a run by car from SoMD to Norfolk and hopped on the Patriot express in May. Being retired I'm the last category to board but they had plenty of seats. Ended up going to Italy via the Azores. Lots of crying babies on the flight, make sure you get ear plugs. Stayed at Sigonella in the BOQ. Nice rooms and reasonable priced. On the way back I was the last space A to board. 1 more duty passenger and I would have been stranded. Immigration in Norfolk was a little slow but still much faster than a commercial international airport

Then when I got back in June my kid dropped me off at McGuire AFB. THe C-17 going to McChord AFB near Seattle was pushed back. I slept in the nursery and was the only person in there. Next day there were only 5 of us on the plane. The seats on the plane are on the bulkhead and I was able to stretch out and sleep with the aid of the blankets and pillows. Other than not having windows it's pretty nice. Spent the night at the BOQ at McChord.

The next day headed with about 20 other pax to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorge, Alaska. The reserves were doing some medical evacuation training on our flight so we got to watch the show as they went about taking care of mannequin patients. The box lunch was pretty crappy, just some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apple, granola bar and water. I miss the good old days with boiled eggs, fried chicken and snickers bars in the box lunches. Can't complain about the price though. Less than $30 each way to Europe and free to Alaska
 
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mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
Monello said:
Better hurry before someone takes that benefit away also. Best advice I can give you is to be flexible.
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I don't know that it's something that will go away so easily. They have to make the flight even if it isn't full, so they'll continue to sell the tickets at a reduced rate.
 
Rael

Rael

Supper's Ready
Monello said:
If you know what Space A means then I'm talking to you.

THis year in May I made a run by car from SoMD to Norfolk and hopped on the Patriot express in May. Being retired I'm the last category to board but they had plenty of seats. Ended up going to Italy via the Azores. Lots of crying babies on the flight, make sure you get ear plugs. Stayed at Sigonella in the BOQ. Nice rooms and reasonable priced. On the way back I was the last space A to board. 1 more duty passenger and I would have been stranded. Immigration in Norfolk was a little slow but still much faster than a commercial international airport

Then when I got back in June my kid dropped me off at McGuire AFB. THe C-17 going to McChord AFB near Seattle was pushed back. I slept in the nursery and was the only person in there. Next day there were only 5 of us on the plane. The seats on the plane are on the bulkhead and I was able to stretch out and sleep with the aid of the blankets and pillows. Other than not having windows it's pretty nice. Spent the night at the BOQ at McChord.

The next day headed with about 20 other pax to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorge, Alaska. The reserves were doing some medical evacuation training on our flight so we got to watch the show as they went about taking care of mannequin patients. The box lunch was pretty crappy, just some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apple, granola bar and water. I miss the good old days with boiled eggs, fried chicken and snickers bars in the box lunches. Can't complain about the price though. Less than $30 each way to Europe and free to Alaska
Click to expand...

Sound great! I've known many who have taken advantage of Space A, but like you said, you have to be flexible. I'd love to be able to go that way, but I'd rather be certain of my travel dates than to risk not getting where I want to when I want to. Though, it must be said...even with the commercials there is not really a guaranty anymore since they overbook routinely.
 
Rael

Rael

Supper's Ready
Talk about being flexible, a few years ago I worked near our pax terminal building. There was a retiree who kept his RV in the adjacent parking lot. Not sure how security allowed him to do that, they probably just didn't notice. An older Google Earth shot even had him there!
:lol:

But he would just sit there and be ready anytime to go anywhere he found interesting. Must be nice to have that kind of flexibility.
 
Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
I took a hop back from Europe last month. The ticket prices have gone up. It now costs a whole $35 for a return ticket. :ohwell:
 
acommondisaster

acommondisaster

Active Member
I don't know when you flew, but I never had a box lunch that sounded as good as fried chicken and snickers. I flew military pretty nearly every month or so for 10 years up until 1995. Mostly moldy sandwiches with greyish balogna, an apple and some off brand of soda and chips. Learned to bring my own food pretty quick! I often saw retirees hanging around Andrews, and I've always been curious how space A worked. Would love to get to a point in my life where we would have the luxury of time to do this. Would I be able to get my dependent husband on the flight with me?
 
Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
acommondisaster said:
Would I be able to get my dependent husband on the flight with me?
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If he has an ID card and a passport, he can get on a space A flight.

Years ago box lunches were pretty decent. They had a good variety in them. I'm not sure a seagull would eat a frozen PB&J.
 
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