New to Space A - Traveling Unaccompan...

Author Message   Heather Rockel New member Username: Heatherwhite810 Post Number: 3 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 180.131.211.203 Posted on Friday, June 04, 2010 - 09:13 am:    Hey Alicia, I know you made it to Seattle because we spent time at the USO together. Did you make it back Space-A. We ended up having to go to Korea. It is nearly impossible as a Cat 4 to fly out to Okinawa. So I thought great I have plenty of time and I will go anywhere. Got on the plane and stopped in Misawa and they notified us the plane would change route after Osan. The route changed to include Okinawa. So all of us that were waiting were really happy. They had 92 seats for Okinawa and only 18 of us flew. I think it was because no one knew about the change. So lucky was on our side.   crystalkei Member Username: Crystalkei Post Number: 44 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 203.205.124.8 Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 10:51 pm:    You got bumped at Yokota? We were able to be manifested through from Kadena all the way to Seattle. Was it due to people on orders?   Alicia Maxwell Member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 8 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 203.105.88.28 Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 08:06 am:    Hi Julie! :-) I'm happy I'm able to help so please feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like! My plans are to make it Stateside (Conus) which includes the PatExpress to Seattle. But no, that is not the only option you'll have :-) If you watch the flights leaving for Kadena, you'll see that they may offer flights to Hickam (Hawaii), Travis (California), Kelly-Lackland (Texas, which is not that often) and possibly other stateside locations as well. So when planning your flight, try to keep your options open. For example, you may be able to get on the flight to Travis and can fly commercial from there instead of trying to catch the PatExpress to Seattle... you understand? :-) So you really want as many options as you can get, to get to the states. I had many plans lol! Inititially I really wanted to try the PatEx all the through to Seattle, but then I noticed a flight to Hickam during the week so I tried that first... didn't make that flight but I knew I could always try to fly out on the weekend with the PatEx... however, I was only able to take the PatEx to Yokota - took a vacay to Tokyo though! Now, I am waiting until tomorrow to try the PatEx again to arrive in Seattle. I'll keep you updated if you'd like.   Julie Moore New member Username: Jujulove Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 180.131.224.252 Posted on Monday, April 26, 2010 - 03:59 am:    Alicia, I am following your thread because I am going to attempt to do this soon myself. So please keep the information coming also, I noticed you said that your plans were to go to Seattle and go commercial from there. Is that the only option? Does the plane ever go onto another location or is Seattle the final stop? I am doing as much research as I can, but it can be very confusing! Are you going all the way to the east coast and have you checked on commercial flight prices? Lots of ????? I know   Alicia Maxwell Member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 7 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 09:37 pm:    "Alicia, there's no way you now can sign up earlier than April 2, so don't sweat it -- you did your best so do NOT second-guess yourself. ;-D (This "don't second guess yourself" rule actually is helpful for many, many decisions in life, especially when you are associated with the military!) " You're so right Cherry! Very helpful advice!   Cherry C. Senior Member Username: Cherry Post Number: 6259 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 71.163.18.160 Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 12:15 pm:    Alicia, there's no way you now can sign up earlier than April 2, so don't sweat it -- you did your best so do NOT second-guess yourself. ;-D (This "don't second guess yourself" rule actually is helpful for many, many decisions in life, especially when you are associated with the military!) You should sign up at the appropriate number of days in advance, at all bases from which you might potentially try to return. This signup does NOT have to be done in person and can be accomplished even before you start out on the trip if the numbers say so. You want to count back on a calendar and sign up on a date that gives you 45 to 50 days on the list. Use the signup link near the top of this page, print your confirmation and carry it with you for proof of your priority signup date. All terminals will honor it. (If you get the rare poorly-informed clerk who says he cannot do so, ask very nicely to speak with a supervisor.) Finally, the estimated number of seats you are told when you telephone may bear no relation to how many they actually are able to put on any given flight. Patriot Express often winds up with more vacancies than expected, because scheduled people do not show up. (And on occasion, unfortunately, it works the other way.) The only way to get on a flight is to BE there well before the announced showtime or roll call time, register at the desk with all your documentation, and be ready to go on a moment's notice. It would be nice if everything was more predictable, but this is just the way that space-a works and it's the "price" we pay for saving many thousands of dollars on commercial air fare.   Alicia Maxwell Junior Member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 6 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 06:22 am:    Heather, I forgot to mention, I signed up 2 APR do you think that was early enough? Also, I learned from reading other threads that I need to sign up at Seatac upon arrival, so I can be one their list when I want to fly back to Kadena right?   Alicia Maxwell New member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 5 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 06:16 am:    Today, I tried to Space A to Hickam. There was also a flight to Kelly AFB (Texas) but that one fell through, not sure why though. The flight to Hickam offered 10T seats, Cat IV was reach but we didn't make the cut. It's ok! I'm trying again Sat. @ Heather, Sam & Pat... thanks for you info, I will look into using the USO as needed. :-) Alicia   Heather Rockel New member Username: Heatherwhite810 Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 216.9.180.88 Posted on Thursday, April 22, 2010 - 02:12 am:    Hi Alicia, You may even need a plan D as well. That plan needs to cover you coming back. I signed up early and made it out of Kadena just fine in Cat IV and 48 seats open. The problem is getting back. I have called every week since getting to CONUS to see what they have open on the PatEx back to Kadena and there has been nothing. So they told me take the PatEx to Yokota or Osan because "there are always lots of seats on those flights." I say great. My kids are not in school I have no reason to hurry back so I willo go where they take me. Well, I planned on making a a two week stay here and then leaving next week to go back home. There are 0 seats left for The Wednesday the 28 and Monday May 3rd flights. There are 14seats for the Saturday May 2nd flight to Osan. So have a plan D in there as well. I would not stay at McChord because it takes and hour to get back to the airport and it costs 15.50 for the shuttle. So tally up the costs of getting there and back plus the price of a hotel and you have the same price of a hotel where you may even get a free breakfast. We stayed at a hotel near buy it had free breakfast and a free shuttle that took us any where we wanted for 89.99. Also, USO may be very full because of the people who are acutally flying out that that weekend might have it filled up. The Space A flights leave super early and roll call is normally around 2200. So personally I would only use USO if I were actually making it onto a flight if not we are checking back into a hotel and waiting for the next flight. Just some thoughts from someone who is going through this. Good Luck!   Samuel K. Ono Member Username: Patono Post Number: 33 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 66.91.74.114 Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 05:36 pm:    Aloha Alicia, If you fly into Sea Tac, the USO does allow sleep overs. We have stayed there before and it is family friendly. Please check with them , before making reservations at a local hotel.Good Luck to you on your 1st space A trip. Aloha Sam & Pat   Alicia Maxwell New member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 4 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 06:43 am:    Yes I did mean reentry. I took care of it at the terminal today, thank you!   crystalkei Member Username: Crystalkei Post Number: 40 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 203.205.124.8 Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 03:20 am:    Do you mean reentry to Japan? You need to get that done before you leave Kadena, I assume at MPF or something like that. It's PSD for the Navy.   Alicia Maxwell New member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 3 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 09:59 pm:    Thank you all for the great suggestions! I will definitely look into local hotels. Also, does anyone know where I can go to get my passports stamped for reentry or is if it's necessary? @ William, wow, only 2 seats huh? I'm hoping for a better opportunity. But thanks for the heads up. :-)   Karen Yan Advanced Member Username: Karenyan Post Number: 327 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 76.180.24.113 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 08:56 am:    Alicia, according to betterbidding.com. Rooms can be had via Priceline: $40 plus taxes for the Seattle Airport Raddison (3 star), $56 plus taxes for the Airport Hilton (3 star). Email me privately if you need more info on this.   crystalkei Member Username: Crystalkei Post Number: 38 Registered: 12-2009 Posted From: 203.205.124.8 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 08:28 am:    I second the hotel room. We used expedia from the laptop when we got in to SeaTac and got a room. We prefered to spend some extra dough and stayed at the radisson for $110 but there were rooms as low as $76. The USO is a terrible place to sleep. I've done it and it sucks.   William Standage Senior Member Username: Charlie13 Post Number: 1059 Registered: 07-2004 Posted From: 211.120.232.228 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 06:02 am:    Alicia, I was in Kadena terminal this AM and asked about this weekend's Patriot Express which goes from here to Iwakuni, on to Yokota, and then SEATAC. They told me they are showing 20 seats to Iwakuni and Yokota, but only 2 seats all the way to Seattle. This does not bode well for a flight to the USA this week. Seat counts can always change, so be ready for a plan B, or C, if you don't make this flight.   Dave Nosek Member Username: Waterman15 Post Number: 43 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 134.215.253.245 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 03:11 am:    Only thing I would advise is if you do get to Sea Tax on the Pat Ex I would find a local motel. McChord is a fair distance from Sea Tac and the money you would spend on transportation to and from would probably pay most of the cost for a Motel. I don't know for sure what the USO policy is on overnight stays but they would be a good place to get the information you need concerning motels and very possibly onward transportation. Good luck on your trip. Hopefully everything goes well for you.   Alicia Maxwell New member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 2 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 02:53 am:    Any suggestions? I feel like I could use more info ;-)   Alicia Maxwell New member Username: Mrsmaxx Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 110.1.201.191 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 02:35 am:    Hello all! I've been lurking this board for a while soaking up as much information as I could, but I just recently signed up though :-). I'm finally taking my first space a trip from Kadena to Seattle this weekend. I am flying on EML without my sponsor (CAT IV, I believe). Plan A - is to fly on PatEx to Seattle and commercial to Miami. Plan B - is to fly into Travis and commercial... Plan C - fly until able to get CONUS :-) and commercial. If we are able to make the flight to Seatac, I am planning on staying at McChord's lodging or possibly the USO overnight so the kids can rest some and catch an early morning flight the next day. This is as far as my planning has gone, lol! I'm really nervous! :-) Alicia