What Is Space A?

Space Available Flight, more commonly referred to as Space-A travel or military hops, is a privilege afforded to military service members, their families, and service retirees. The system accommodates these passengers by letting them fill seats on Air Force air transport flights that would otherwise be left empty. The seats are made available on a space-available basis.  Unused seats on DoD owned or controlled aircraft are made available once all the space-required (duty) passengers and cargo have been accommodated. 

Space-A travelers may sign up for travel 60-days in advance of the desired travel date. Passengers are categorized by priority of travel and are processed in priority order by their sign-in time (Julian date). For leisure travel, Reservists are placed in category VI, which is a rather low priority. (Official duty passengers have priority over Space-A travelers.) 

Space-A seats are provided according to certain criteria. Eligible passengers on a military aircraft are ranked in order of priority according to the purpose of their travel. Families may choose to use Space-A travel to go on a vacation during a family member's military leave. They may use Space-A for general transportation as well, such as to visit family or friends or for other private reasons. But the most urgent -- and therefore highest-priority -- situations involve military service members or other related individuals traveling on emergency leave, such as to visit a family member with life-threatening health problems. Individuals or entire families can be accommodated, although smaller parties usually have an easier time securing seats on Space-A aircraft.

There is no charge for personnel traveling in government owned aircraft. However, if a Space-A flight is made on a commercial contract carrier, a fee will be assessed - the fee varys (approximately $15-30) depending on the port. There is also a fee for meals served aboard military aircraft 

Space required passengers or cargo may require the removal of Space A passengers at any point. If removed en route, you may reregister with your original date and time of registration. Passenger Service will assign a new date and time to any country or destination you change or add on your application. 

This is not us but gives an example of how we might travel

When Stoney was active duty, we caught a Space A flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Dover, Delaware. Our boys were very young and it is was quite an experience to fly on a C5-A. Now that we are retired, footloose and fancy free, we're going to give this mode of transportation another go. 

We have sleeping bags and mats and we plan to travel with small backpacks for our carry-ons and small roller bags that will carry less than 30 lbs. I think we are authorized 70 lbs. of luggage on these bigger planes. If we travel with 30 lbs. or less, we could catch a flight on a much smaller planes. So we plan to be ready (just in case). We could fly to Europe in one of these. (Notice the people stretched out on the floor sleeping).


Below is a C17 Globemaster cargo jet.  They can be very noisy and cold; earplugs and blankets might be issued. You can see there is lots of legroom and supposedly you can jog around the cargo area, and visit the cockpit. Right up Stoney's alley.

This is not a picture of us either; just another example of how we may travel.

Most likely we'll begin with trying to catch a flight to California and see how we fare. Not sure our personalities will mesh with flying this way but we'll give it a go a time or two.

We could go to places all over the United States from the East Coast to the West. Flights go to Germany, Spain, Crete, Azores, Italy, England, Ireland, Hawaii, Alaska, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and other places. Adventure awaits ......