Flying Military Air aka Hops aka Space A Travel

I decided to write a post dedicated to taking military hops, since I have so many friends interested in flying Space A (military air). For starters, here's some info taken straight from the Space A website:

It should be noted that while flying on U.S. military aircraft is usually without cost, it is not a reliable means of travel. Unlike a commercial airline there are usually no backup flights if the plane is diverted or if there are not enough seats. So your ability to fly to a destination depends on:

• The plane actually arriving at your destination
• The plane being needed at the other destination (if not the flight could be cancelled or diverted)
• Space Available seats being available on the flight
• Your flight category being high enough to qualify for one of the Space Available seats

Making the decision...
 I completely agree with these statements. Initially, we planned on flying to Guam. We have been keeping our eye on hops for about a month just to see if there were any familiar patterns. Travis to Hawaii; Hawaii to Guam...and then the reverse. Last month we saw this over and over and over again. We were set on traveling there until our leave dates (vacation days) came up when we realized there haven't been many flights going back from Guam to Hawaii within recent days. Was this a risk we were willing to take? Nope! We knew that there would be a chance we would have to pay out of pocket and we did not want to front that much money just in case. So instead, we just flew to Hawaii. (In hind sight, I'm glad we did this!)

Getting on the flight is hit or miss...
There were 3 flights to Hawaii on the day we were permitted to leave. Prior to showing up at the passenger terminal, we called the Space A people and put our name on a waiting list. This does not guarantee you a seat, it just notifies them that you are interested in traveling. The first flight was scheduled to leave at 6 in the morning, with a role call at 4:30 am. This means that you have to arrive even earlier to "check in." When you check in you have to give them all social security numbers of the members traveling, ID cards and possibly birth certificates for little ones. Role call is when they announce who has a seat on the flight. There were 65 Firm (available) seats but the terminal had a little over a hundred people. They give the seats based on your category number. The higher category numbers include people that are on emergency leave or are PCS'ing (moving). I believe we were category 3...active duty and their dependents on permissive leave. The rest of the categories included reservists, dependents without a sponsor and retired veterans. Based on your category you are chosen by the time and day you signed up on the waiting list. We were number 46 out of 65. Note, that some planes only have 5 seats available while some have 75.


Pre-boarding experience...
After role call, we walked up to the check in counter and turned in our check baggage. There are no fees and you are permitted (2) 50 lb bags per adult passenger. Strollers and carseats are not counted against you. You may purchase meals for $4.50 a box which include a sandwich, fruit, granola bar, bag of chips, soda and bottle of water -- it's totally worth it! After check in we waited some more for security. You have to take off your shoes like a normal airport and go through that whole ordeal, but they are much more relaxed about it than commercial planes. We didn't have to take our laptops out of sleeves or anything like that. After security you board a bus (when everyone is ready) and they drive you out to the plane. We climbed up the stairs and picked our seats (it's free for all so you want to be in the front of the line if possible, but families have priority).

On-board experience...
I expected us to look like some sort of a combat-action movie. I envisioned seats that sit on the side of the plane...straps that come down from our head...and maybe a parachute exit lol. Our first plane had normal airplane seating and you could tell they tried their best to make it look as commercial as possible. It was pretty nice. The plane itself is noisy...which is great if you have kids. Half our plane was kids and some were screaming and crying but the noise was filtered out by the hum of the engines. Speaking of which, that hum lulled our sweet boy to sleep, making space A a more ideal setting for traveling with little ones. There are on-board bathrooms....they do provide blankets and pillows upon request but I suggest wearing thick socks and bring lots of layers...it's chilly! Also, before I forget...they require closed toed shoes to board the plane....also no heels or flip flops.

Arrival
Depending on your crew and where you land, arrival can be slow or fast. In Hawaii it was extremely slow. I had no room to complain because it was all free...just know that the whole process takes a lot of time.

Getting home...
Getting back was much harder. We attempted two hops and one was cancelled while the other only had 5 seats. We were over their number by one person and infants have to have their own seat. (Keep in mind that an extra day equals an extra night's stay at a hotel plus meals, plus potential cab fares and what not). There weren't as many flights back to Travis as we had seen the week before (where there were almost 5 a day!) and there were a ton of people trying to get on board because Hawaii to Travis is the gateway back into the states. There were 75 available seats the next day and we made it home safe and sound. We arrived at the passenger terminal at 2 pm, flew out by 7 pm, landed home by 3 am (with the time difference).

All in all, planning is key...flexibility is necessary. There are both positives and negatives to hops but the free price tag outweighs all the negatives. I thoroughly enjoyed our experience and I had the opportunity to see planes that I have only seen from afar.

If you have any questions, comment below so everyone can see and I'll try my best to help you out!