Space A with small children to German...

Author Message   kelig neal New member Username: Kelig Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 99.194.230.27 Posted on Sunday, April 25, 2010 - 04:06 pm:    Lynn, Thanks for opening this post. It answers a lot of my questions. I will be travelling roughly at the same time in the same direction. Best of luck in your travels.   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 4326 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 95.208.80.143 Posted on Monday, April 19, 2010 - 02:05 pm:    Kimberly, Lynn can get on the Ramstein list "before" she gets to Ramstein and be ahead (even more) on the list. Her signup will be valid for 60 days so that should be taken into account.   kimberly vallade Member Username: Kvallade Post Number: 8 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 84.169.158.55 Posted on Monday, April 19, 2010 - 01:57 pm:    Lynn, I don't think you will have a problem at all getting a flight back to the states when time to leave Germany. The flights back are frequent and honestly, you can take anything on the coast and rent a car even. Once you arrive in Ramstein you get on the list so you are already checked in for your departing list then you will be ahead a little already on that list.   Karen Yan Advanced Member Username: Karenyan Post Number: 326 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 76.180.24.113 Posted on Monday, April 19, 2010 - 09:12 am:    Lynn, I remember paying attention to the "last catagory moved" in both August 2008 & 2009 from Ramstein to the States. Both years in LATE August, the backlog appeared to be over and even Cat 6 were moving.   Cherry C. Senior Member Username: Cherry Post Number: 6234 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 71.163.18.160 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 07:05 pm:    Lynn, since you are probably hoping to go to Germany early in the summer (as soon as school is out) and return to CONUS late (just before U.S. school resumes) you are correct in guessing that you may not have quite as much competition for seats since you will be going against the biggest portion of the summer flyers. (However, many Cat III's who live in the U.S. do like to take the family to Europe for a vacation!) You should do some research on reserve and air national guard units located within a reasonable drive of your home, and call to see if they have missions going over. Many fewer travelers know about such flights so your chances for seats could be much better. Do find out exactly what their signup rules are, though, because they tend to differ from the standard AMC procedures. (If you don't have a friend or relative who will drive you to your departure point and wait til it's sure you are going/gone -- perhaps using your own car and gas -- then you should try to get a one-way rental car to the location from which you intend to fly, so you will not have to go retrieve your POV when you return.)   LT New member Username: Disorganized5 Post Number: 4 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 97.89.230.239 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 12:16 pm:    Thanks for clarifying this for me! :-)   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 4320 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 95.208.80.143 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 12:03 pm:    Lynn, correct, you are not command-sponsored. However, if you are a dependent of a military member on "deployment" (not TDY) orders for 120 days or more then you qualify for Cat-IV travel. See the info at the link I posted below.   Lynn Turonis New member Username: Disorganized5 Post Number: 3 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 97.89.230.239 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 11:48 am:    John, I've looked up your link and am confused. Do you know if I'm even allowed to use Space A? My husband is stationed in the US but will be deployed, as I've mentioned, for more then 120 days. I live with him in the US but want to go home to Germany for the summer. According to your link I suppose I'm not command sponsored, which then means I can't fly to Germany using Space-A.   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 4310 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 95.208.80.143 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 06:59 am:    Lynn, Excellent advice from the others. Since you don't have a time line and have folks in Germany you have an advantage. With the proper preparation and attitude, Space-A travel can be a rewarding, uplifting, exhilarating and cost savings experience. Do your homework, be prepared for the worst and if everything goes well you'll join the legions of seasoned Space-a traveling folks that have had successful trips and saved money. If not, well, you know the other side of the equation.   Lynn Turonis New member Username: Disorganized5 Post Number: 2 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 97.89.230.239 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 01:26 am:    Thank you so much for all your help. I am actually going to see my parents in Germany. Since I am going the "reversed" route, ie Teachers and others stationed in Germany flying home during the summer, I thought I might be in luck. My kids have 10 weeks summer vacation and I do not have a time line per se.   Karen Yan Advanced Member Username: Karenyan Post Number: 325 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 76.180.24.113 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 10:02 pm:    Lynne, I agree with Lindsey. Do your homework, have a plan, expect delays, brief your kids that there may be a lot of waiting, and you'll be fine. I travel with my daughters Space-A & they love it. I would much rather deal with the uncertainty of Space-A than some of the incidents I've had flying commercial when things go wrong. Once example: Christmas 2008, arrived at my stopover airport of Atlanta. Was to continue to Buffalo.... All flights to the Northeast were cancelled. The Atlanta airport was an absolute madhouse with crowds of thousands of stranded passengers, nowhere to sit, and lines a mile long of upset people(some very irate & argumentative) waiting in line to be rescheduled. I took one look around.....said, "Nahh," went to the USO and booked a hotel on Priceline (with a pool), and waited it out until the next day. Just study this board religiously, have a plan b/c & d, and be prepared, although I do have to say, traveling in the Summer is very competitive with Cat 3's. My kids will take Space A over commercial any day, and their presence in the terminal or the aircraft does not disrupt anyone/anything.   John David Brooks Advanced Member Username: Johnb6597 Post Number: 354 Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 121.55.235.75 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 09:32 pm:    Make sure you have the ability to pay for 1-way commercial tickets for all 4 of you in the very possible event that you get stuck in Germany and are unable to return home in a timely fashion via Space-A. It's a frequent occurrence and you should at least be financially prepared for it if it happens to you. Good luck in your travels!   Lindsey Bullock Intermediate Member Username: Lindseyb Post Number: 61 Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 195.93.60.104 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 07:53 pm:    Lynn, I fly all the time with my toddlers and have no problems. I come prepared with food, toys, and extra clothes and we are greatful we have benches to sleep on instead of complaining. As long as you're going for adventure and take things as the wind blows, you will be fine. Dress in layers!   Mike Schukert Senior Member Username: Mike_s Post Number: 479 Registered: 03-2004 Posted From: 98.71.255.139 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 06:49 pm:    Lynn: I do not wish to dampen your understandable enthusiasm in planning a get-together with your husband, but doing so during the summer peak space-a season with three kids in tow could be challenging, demoralizing, tiring and costly. As legions of seasoned space-a traveling moms can attest, "the best-laid plans...oft go awry." The space-a system was never designed for family travel, especially by unaccompanied moms and their broods. Although queries such as yours are sure to generate "go for it" replies, occasional reality check-type cautionary posts from space-a traveling moms that have been burned in their attempts to shave costs are worth heeding. As they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Good luck!   Mike W Advanced Member Username: Mike_in_seattle Post Number: 227 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 198.233.47.87 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 06:18 pm:    Lynn, Yes, there are flights out of Pope AFB. You may have already visited the "flight schedules" portion of this site and found no entries for Pope. That's because no locals like you have volunteered to call daily and post the info. Since you are close, maybe you can do that! Here are the numbers at the terminal: Pax: (910) 394-6527/8 Rec: (910) 394-6525 (These came from John D's space a links, which you'll find the link to at the top of Dirk's site.) The C-130 and C-17 bases frequently deploy their aircraft to Pope for practice jumps by the 82nd Airborne. They spend a few days at Pope, then head home empty. In the case of the McChord and Charleston C-17 units, they also have frequent traffic to Germany from that home base, so once you get there, it should be easy enough. I have flown into Pope (from McChord on one of their C-17s) but never out, so don't have a feel for the friendliness of the terminal staff there. At McChord, the reception you get seems to vary with who is on duty--my experiences have been very good, but others who have posted here have indicated that they are sometimes clueless about flights. I'll defer to someone else to address your eligibility and category, since I'm not up to speed on the rules for spouses of deployed members. The staff at Pope might be able to help you with what documents you need--I don't think a command sponsor letter is relevant to your situation.   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 4309 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 95.208.80.143 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 06:14 pm:    Lynn, welcome to the world of Space-A Travel. As a dependent of a deployed sponsor for 120 days or more then you will be elegible to travel unaccompanied. See the info at this FAQ link. If you are in CONUS then you are not command sponsored. See the info at this FAQ link. Pope flights to Germany are probably rare.   Lynn Turonis New member Username: Disorganized5 Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 97.89.230.239 Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2010 - 05:59 pm:    I couldn't find anything on my questions - therefore the new link. I would like to fly to Germany this summer with 3 children under the age of 11. My husband will be deployed for more then 120 days - therefore I believe we would be eligible I suppose in Cat V. I believe I will need a command sponsored letter? Are there any flights out of Pope AFB (this is just around the corner) or would Charleston be the better choice? Ramstein would be preferable. Is this even a good idea to attempt this with 3 kids?? Thanks for all your help!!