Wife Traveling

Author Message   MM New member Username: Mlhokie Post Number: 4 Registered: 09-2007 Posted From: 70.161.149.162 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 07:42 pm:    D'oh! I meant to say that I backed up my planning by booking SW one-way tickets on two different days, both arriving the night before I planned (hoped!!!) to catch a flight at BWI. The intent was to use one and cancel the other (and possibly apply it to my return leg when if needed a one-way ticket). In my case, I was watching seat projections and could scrub the trip vice getting to BWI, not making the cut and then having to get back home and try again later due to desired destination and flight frequency. In the case of Andrew's wife, I am guessing she is at Aviano from his email addy so if she doesn't make the cut at Aviano she should have time to cancel her commercial leg from BWI to FL (SW policy is day prior) when she gets home, so planning for more than one attempt at making the flight out is worthwhile. Getting out of BWI won't be as "convenient" and there she'll need to be ready for hotels or alternate paths OCONUS. (the infamous Plans B, C, D, E, etc)   MM New member Username: Mlhokie Post Number: 3 Registered: 09-2007 Posted From: 70.161.149.162 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 07:20 pm:    I think there is some confusion on what Andrew and his wife are trying to accomplish. I just did something very similar so that might be why I am seeing it differently. I am reading it as she will travel space-a from Aviano to BWI, then commercial to FT Walton Bch FL. Then attempt the reverse on her return leg. I'd use the previous suggestion of Southwest Airlines for the commercial leg because of their policies. Plus, she'll arrive at one end of BWI, go get her luggage on the lower level, hoof it around the terminal (hopefully stopping by the USO- call to verify their hours, typically they are open all night before the early PATEX rotators) then head over to the the other counter, either AMC or SW depending upon which leg of the trip. The main BWI website has good terminal maps so she can familiarize herself with what to do. As for showtime at BWI for her return leg, call them for best and most accurate info. Contact info is on John D's pages www.spacea.net as well as the BWI schedule page here. Good luck!   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 4639 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 95.208.80.143 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 06:53 pm:    If there are "deployments" to Ft Walton Beach then please let me know where to signup!   Karen Yan Advanced Member Username: Karenyan Post Number: 341 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 67.246.180.158 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 06:43 pm:    Andrew, I'm assuming that you're deployed to Fort Walton Beach. You may want to consider this. Southwest Airlines has direct flights to Panama City, FL (1 1/2 drive from Fort Walton). If she buys a ticket on Southwest & that is not used, she can cancel the ticket & she has a year to use the cost of the entire ticket on another Southwest flight. She can even use those funds to purchase a ticket for someone else. Plus they don't charge for bags. 2 weeks out these one-way tickets from BWI to Panama City are $135 plus tax. So if you guys can get a pretty good guestimate of when the AMC flights are leaving, atleast you would not lose any money if you'll fly Southwest in the future. Also, if she has to wait a several hours or overnight in BWI to catch the Southwest flight, the USO in he BWI aiport is a very decent place to wait it out.   Mike Schukert Senior Member Username: Mike_s Post Number: 530 Registered: 03-2004 Posted From: 74.243.3.95 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 05:13 pm:    Andrew: You are to be commended for taking an active part in helping your wife prepare for an unaccompanied space-a travel experience. Would but more husbands do so! As you can see from the preceeding posts, there is no such thing as certainty in this often frenetic arena where Murphy's Law is the order of the day. Inexperienced spouses traveling in an unaccompanied status will likely find themselves in a high pucker-factor quandry in the always possible event that flights are cancelled, delayed or re-routed. Were this to happen when traveling with kids in tow, the problems will be compounded. You should have well thought-out contingency plans and cash on hand to cover lodging, meals, and ground transportation (taxis, airline tickets, etc.) if things tank. And be sure that your wife has a cell phone and knows how to contact you in an emergency. Good luck!   Bill Mathews Senior Member Username: Bill_mathews Post Number: 1224 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.71.47.192 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 12:01 pm:    When does she hope to fly out of BWI to Ramstein/Aviano? The June BWI Schedule is out; but July won't be out till the last week of June. We need more info (also 1 person?) to help you plan her trip. Back up PlanB, if she can't get all the way to Aviano, would be to fly to Ramstein, then work her way to Aviano on another pop up flight, could be a small jet with 30# bag limit. Or take the Bus from Landstuhl to Vicenza Army Base, then bus or train to the City near Aviano. On her return, we always book the CommAir flight with a day slack in that flight in case the Ramstein to BWI MilAir flight is delayed. Or perhaps wait and buy a one way ticket when she arrives back at BWI.   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 6778 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 95.121.128.49 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 11:56 am:    Andrew, Check the flight schedule postings and/or call the BWI pax terminal.   Christi Meyer Member Username: Cmeyer Post Number: 33 Registered: 01-2009 Posted From: 70.174.115.204 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 11:55 am:    Someone will post the official "become familiar with the site" stuff. Which is very good advice. Your wife especially should read the space-a trip reports to have an idea what she might be in for if things don't go as planned. What's going to be her plan B,C and D? How do you know what day she'll get into BWI? She won't have a reservation, and may or may not get on the flight, especially as summer comes up and there will be a lot of Cat III's competing for those spaces. Not saying it can't be done, but I wouldn't buy a non-refundible commercial ticket in either direction. Christi   Cherry C. Senior Member Username: Cherry Post Number: 6431 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 71.163.18.160 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 11:54 am:    Andrew, welcome to the board! I urge you AND your wife to study John D's site (link at upper left), particularly the space-a Q & A (or FAQ's). Reading them over more than once and thinking about how each might affect her hoped-for trip will give both of you a better picture of how space-a works (or, sometimes, doesn't!). You also need to read the Trip Reports, even for flights that were not going to or from your destinations, to get an even better picture of the system. The IS a regular but infrequent "rotator" between Jacksonville and BWI -- use the "search" function (link at top, with the blue magnifying glass) to see and chart that information, which also may be found in the BWI and Jacksonville "Flight Schedules" forums. IF after working to "digest" all this information, your wife still wants to make the effort (presumably soon, in summer -- THE MOST CONGESTED season of the whole year for space-a travel between Europe and the U.S.), then she should go for it, but will need to remain very flexible and have enough resources to stay overnight(s) while waiting, to buy food and lodging if needed, and in the worst case to buy a last-minute commercial ticket to get back (because her "letter" will expire when your deployment does and after that she will not be able to fly unaccompanied anywhere). Good luck! And ask her to write a Trip Report for you or her to post here, for the benefit of others who will learn from her adventure -- whether successful or NOT. We all learn as much from what does not work as we do from what does!   Carole G Advanced Member Username: Greengal Post Number: 246 Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 68.205.151.181 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 11:37 am:    When you are traveling space-a, you can't book a flight. You arrive at the terminal and compete with other space-a people for a seat. Nothing is guaranteed. If Cat III families are there to go to the US, they are ahead of her. If she wants to go to Fort Walton Beach, she should book a roundtrip commercial ticket. Good luck.   Andrew Frenzel New member Username: Allturbo98 Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 153.29.211.60 Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 - 11:19 am:    Im deployed at the moment and I got a letter so my wife could be moved up a cat. I think to cat 4 but im not sure, but my question is how would she book a flight from Fort Walton Beach, FL(end destination) to BWI if she doesnt know the flight time? She has already signed up at Aviano to get to BWI and BWI to Aviano, but they dont know the flight schedule from BWI. How is she suppose to book her flight back up to BWI so she doesnt miss the show up time? Booking a flight from BWI to Fort Walton is easy because she knows what day she will be arriving there. Its coming back to BWI to get to Aviano she is having problems with. Should she buy a one way ticket from BWI to Fort Walton and then buy a one way from Fort Walton to BWI or buy a rountrip ticket for BWI to Fort walton and back? I know this might sound confusing, and believe me it is, but this is her first time doing the whole space a. Please help, suggestions?