Is flying Space-A worth it?

2018-10-10T17:56:03-04:00

I never used Space-A when I was on AD, though I wish I would have tried it. I heard too many unvetted horror stories of Joes that would waste a ton of leave waiting for their flights.

Response by CW5 Jack Cardwell made Oct 10 at 2018 6:00 PM

2018-10-10T18:00:41-04:00

Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Response by Maj Robert Thornton made Oct 10 at 2018 6:05 PM

2018-10-10T18:05:54-04:00

My family and traveled round trip from the UK to the US and back for $40. Where we flew out of the states was a SAC facility and did not collect fares. We only had a two day outbound wait and no wait heading back. The key is putting yourself on the list when you land.
The biggest problem was family members not being able to fly in CONUS. If a flight landed but was continuing on in CONUS, no problem. If the mission changed a route, families had to debark and were responsible to get to their destinations on their own.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Oct 10 at 2018 6:16 PM

2018-10-10T18:16:38-04:00

Space A is best for vets or active duty traveling alone. It is really meant for when you have more time than money. And remember it isn't only the aerial ports/AF that have flights. Check with the Navy as well. It depends on where you want to go and how time critical your arrival is.

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Oct 10 at 2018 7:06 PM

2018-10-10T19:06:17-04:00

Space-A is the ONLY way to travel! IF you have the available time.....

I used it several times when I was stationed overseas. It saved me tons of money for a family of four traveling home for visits. It does take a little planning and flexibility to make the right connections. Check the "cargo ports" along with the normal PAX ports. I found flights easier from the heavy lift bases (ie: Dover AFB, Travis AFB, etc) than I did the normal "Rotator Flight" locations (ie: St Louis, BWI, San Fransisco, etc). Make sure you have alternate travel plans as a contingency. Sometimes the cargo flights get cancelled completely or they change to no passengers allowed.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 made Oct 10 at 2018 10:33 PM

2018-10-10T22:33:12-04:00

SGT Jamarl Jones Several of my former associates would Space A to Scotland in the summers to walk along Hadrian’s Wall.

They were all retired 0-7s and at times inflated their retired rank to secure better privileges!

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Oct 11 at 2018 9:11 AM

2018-10-11T09:11:56-04:00

i did Space A once. Ended up flying from Germany to Tinker AFB on a C-5. Not the best trip I ever took, but it was inexpensive. If you have plenty of time or a high priority, it's a good way to go.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Oct 11 at 2018 12:03 PM

2018-10-11T12:03:08-04:00

My family and I flew Space A after waiting three days to get out of Rammstein on a C5 that was older than I was. Flew backwards, no windows, in the upper PAX deck with our box lunch and standard Army heater with two temperature settings - too f-ing hot or too f-ing cold. We treated it as an adventure and rolled with it. Got to Dover, which in no way has any connecting ground transport to a real airport. Rented a car from the enterprise downtown five minutes before they closed (at 5, apparently Aunt Bee made pie). Drove like crazy and Got to BWI and got a shuttle flight to Boston. The myth at the time was you'll just hop on the commercial rotator from Rammstein to BWI and bobs your uncle.

Where I really learned my lesson was on the way back. There was nothing flying space a back to Rammestein or anywhere in Germany. We had to buy four no-notice one way air fares....ouch. One way tickets are generally more expensive. Worse yet, the only flight we could get to be back off leave on time, was an Air India flight to Frankfurt. Anything we saved on airfare on the way out, was blown on return fares, hotels, and irritation. We could have got a round trip ticket for each of us for less. We had to scare up ground transport from Frankfurt back to Heidelberg and then drive to Rammestein the next day to pick up the vehicle we started with.

Lesson learned Space A only works if you have no place to be and unlimited amounts of money to either wait at different craptastic PAX terminals with no degree of certainty, or buy a dedicated airfare and have the comfort of knowing you'll get home.

Each Space A hub runs things differently. Some let you sign up in advance, some don't, some let you sign up but then don't follow their own rules, others will simultaneously direct you to a web site and disavow all knowledge of said website when you question your "place" in line. SPace A may have worked in the Cold War when the Air Force was burning holes in the sky, turning JP8 into freedom, just to stay current. If there is any kind of real mission, it gets wonky.

For me, not worth it.

Response by Sgt John Steinmeier made Oct 11 at 2018 1:05 PM

2018-10-11T13:05:21-04:00

As others have said, if you have time then Space A can work for you.
Hopped from Turkey to England while on AD to visit my parents who were also AD at the time. Had the route planned on known good standard MAC flights, but then got stuck at Rein Mein for 2 days due to getting pushed off for higher priority passengers (PCS types). Wasn't a horrible thing as I went down into Frankfurt and did some bar hopping with a guy that also flew out of Turkey. Had to do a little back tracking through Spain to get to England. The flight back from England to Turkey was a breeze though. Got on a Medevac Flight that was basically a DC9 with standard commercial seating.