(STUTTGART, Germany) The Space Available program can save service members and their families hundreds, even thousands of dollars in travel expenses.
However, it does come with a price tag: preparedness and flexibility.
"The key to Space A is to be flexible," said Staff Sgt. Al Meyer, air transportation supervisor at the Ramstein Air Base passenger terminal. "We can at least get you back to the States, where you can get a cheaper flight to where you need to go, if we can't get you there."
Space Available allows service members and their families to fly free (or nearly free) of charge not only to the United States, but to any other U.S. air force base in the world.
In order to take advantage of this benefit, service members and their family members must sign up at the Air Mobility Command passenger terminal they wish to fly out of. To sign up, they can either e-mail or fax their paperwork (see below) to the terminal, or hand it in personally. The terminal will place them on a waiting list for flights based on their Category (1-6) and the date and time that they signed up.
On the day of the flight, only people marked present during the roll call will be able to fly out. Meyer recommended bringing a copy of the e-mail confirming the date and time of their sign-up to the airport as well.
Ramstein Air Base is the closest terminal to U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart that offers Space A flights.
European destinations from Ramstein include Aviano, Italy; and Mildenhall, England. Passengers are allowed to sign up for five country destinations simultaneously. Primary stateside destinations from Ramstein include Dover, Del.; McGuire AFB, N.J., and Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Md. Since BWI is a commercial airport as well, passengers flying to and from this airport must pay a head tax of $27.40. All other destinations are free.
The hardest time to get on a Space A flight is during the summer months and around holidays. "This is our busiest time of the year," Meyer said. "Categories 4 and 5 can pretty much expect to wait a few days; I've seen people take as much as a week."
The quickest way to get to the U.S. is by taking the first available flight, Meyer said. "If your name is called for a flight back to the States, take the flight. You may not make that next roll call."
However, the flight's final stop in the U.S. is the end of the line for passengers; from there, they have to pay the rest of the way if their final destination is elsewhere. The only exception to this is family members who have been upgraded to a Category 3 or 4.
Passengers must also pay their own way back to a military passenger terminal for their return flight.
Despite the extra effort and waiting time, the savings makes flying Space A worth it, said Alma Fowler, who flew Category 6 in May with her husband, a retiree, and two children.
"I estimate we spent $350," said Fowler, describing her trip from Ramstein to March AFB in Riverside, Calif. The Fowlers only paid for trip incidentals, a taxi ride and two nights in a hotel. "It would have been $2,400, had we bought commercial ticket."
For more information, or to sign up for flights through Ramstein Air Base, visit www.ramstein.af.mil or call or fax information to 480-5364/civ. 06371-47-5364. Sign-ups can also be e-mailed to spacea@ramstein.af.mil. Flight times are released 72 hours before the flight, and seat numbers are released six hours before.
Space A sign-up requirements
Service members
Active duty service members on emergency leave can fly in Category 1, and service members on environmental morale leave are in Category 2. All others are in Category 3, as well as any family members traveling with them.
To fly Space A, service members need their leave paperwork and military ID, and family members accompanying them need their military ID card (ages 10 and up) and passports.
Service members cannot sign up for a Space A flight until midnight on their first day of leave. Sign-ups last for the length of leave.
Family members
In Europe, command-sponsored spouses of active duty service members can fly unaccompanied in Category 5.
In addition to an ID card and passport, they need to have the command sponsorship letter approving them to fly Space A. The letter must be signed by a commanding officer in their spouse's unit.
Spouses of deployed service members can be upgraded to Category 4 if their spouse has been deployed more than 120 consecutive days and to Category 3 if the deployment is for more than 366 days. For these upgrades, the command sponsorship letter must include the beginning and end dates of the deployment.
Sign-ups last for 30 to 60 days for dependents. If their travel exceeds the 30 or 60 day limit, they must re-sign up with a new command sponsorship letter.
Retirees
Retirees fly Space A in Category 6. They need to have a passport and military ID card.
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