<p>I heard once (cannot honestly say when or where) that as mids we can get on military flights for cheap, is this true? I heard something about being able to fly to major military bases. Just wondering because my family lives in Asia, so it would be awesome if I could get on a flight to Korea of maybe the Philippines. It sounds a little too good to be true, but just thought Id ask.</p>
<p>Here some info from the Ft Dix newspaper:
Space A flights offer travel savings to service members</p>
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<p>Spc..Marimer Navarrete </p>
<p>444th MPAD / Fort Dix PAO</p>
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<p>When taking part in a very long activation, most soldiers begin to dream of an ideal vacation that can take their minds off the rough military environment.</p>
<p>However, a lot of them don't know there is a service they can use to fly to dream places like Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, or Hawaii. </p>
<p>The service, called Space A (available) or Mac Flight, is provided by the Air Mobility Command (AMC) for soldiers (Active Duty, Reserve and retired), their family members, and Department of Defense (DoD) employees. </p>
<p>According to the AMC Web site, the first thing to do when planning a trip with Space A is to look for the airport facilities that provide that service near your area; in New Jersey's case it will be McGuire Air Force Base (AFB). </p>
<p>You may also want to check Pennsylvania and Delaware, which have at least one Space A facility within reasonable traveling distance of Fort Dix. </p>
<p>In Pennsylvania, you can use the Naval Air Station (NAS) facility in Willow Grove, and in Delaware, Dover AFB. </p>
<p>The AMC also notes that the soldier or the person who wants to fly in any military aircraft must contact the airport terminal that they are interested in departing from. </p>
<p>This is because there may be changes in the flight schedule, or an aircraft may be designated to take cargo instead of passengers, or changes may be made in the seating priority. </p>
<p>For example, according to the most recent update to the AMC Web site, Dover AFB has available travel to Germany only and its C-5A/B aircraft flies there two times per week. </p>
<p>If you want to visit other destinations that are not currently scheduled, you may need to travel to the military airport with regularly scheduled flights to that country or region. </p>
<p>This is often the case with Sgt. Oscar Rubert</p>
<p>If you can afford to be very flexible, Space A is great. Summer before firstie year my friend and I caught flights from Norfolk to Italy immediately after we finished cadre. All in all we had to wait a few days on each side at bases, however, from what I've read three days of waiting is somewhat unusual. As long as you know the schedules ahead of time, it isn't hard to catch the first flight you want... The easy places to get off hand are either Italy (Naples and Sig) or Germany. Specifically, I seem to remember that there was something like a flight every day between Norfolk and Rammstein. I remember while we were waiting on Naples I think we almost hopped a plane to Greece, but weren't allowed because it was going through the Middle East first. So there are definitely options</p>
<p>Space A can be great, just realize that the military's schedule may not be your schedule! I flew Space A to Spain last year, but we were delayed a day because of mechanical issues.</p>
<p>C-5s are great because they have upwards of 70 airline style seats that are not removed for cargo (they even have more leg room than United economy!) Unfortunately, they break a lot and the passenger section only has 2 windows.</p>
<p>This sounds like a good option, and I will have to look into it more as it becomes more relevant to my situation. I think I can afford to be flexible if I'm saving myself a lot of money :)...thanks for all the info guys...</p>
<p>Also remember the military gives priority to AD members PCS'ing, dependent children who have parents stationed overseas in the summer (they are allowed 1 roundtrip from stateside) also AD dependents with deployed spouses are allowed to jump the line. Since you are thinking of summertime travel these situations are very common. Many of them PCS'ing since to ship your dog home can cost alot of $$$ and members chose to go Space A to save money, I have known several people who have opted this route. You should allot several days on the return to make sure you can get back in case you are bumped or if the plane breaks down. Also many people don't do Space A if they have a limited time frame since the cost of a 1 way ticket can be quite expensive if they get stuck there. Hopping from Dover, MacQuire, and Elmendorf are big places to start the jump from. The 1st 2 typically go to Europe, the last is the Hawaii and Asia route.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, MAC flights are only allowed for AD and dependents, not parents of AD, right?</p>