Ok , I've read about every Space A , article, forum website, ect... i have every possible passenger terminal on facebook ..so please dont tell me to go read something, i've 99% sure i've already read it. and i've been trying to get a feel for the flight info that the terminals put up to see how often flights are places. My question IS. We have leave for August 2-31, we are PLANNING on flying space A...never done it before so hopefully it works. There will be 3 of us ( as long as my husband gets back by the 31st i dont care if i'm stuck somewhere lol) We will be going from Yokota to the US east coast, either Savannah, GA (first preference) - Charelston,SC - or Jacksonville,FL , either of those are do-able! ( actually in reality we plan on landing in savannah, getting our car and driving up to atlanta,ga- knoxville,tn- lexington, ky ) so any of those areas would work we could just rent a car and drive up or down, around...whatever!!! and i looked at allegiant air too and they have some good prices. ANYWAYS How hard ( from experienced SPACE A travelers) do you think it will be to get a flight over there?????? We were either going to try and travel over here ( which i really really want to do -- australia, hawaii, guam, italy, spain, germany....take me every where ) or go home and visit family..which we are PCSing out in January (hes getting out of the navy) so I would kind of like to fly space A over here to places we probably wont ever get to go again im just scared of the Space A thing. I did call yokota the other day ( i found out my gpa was in the hospital) and they were like, come on we have a flight leaving in 2 hours...which.. that was no where near time for me to get packed and get to yokosuka. I know yokota is a main terminal over here.. is it easy to get flights to and from? i know we will probably have to fly to seattle, hawaii or travis terminal, but from there IDK where it would go or if it would go straight over. Any input would be greatly appreciated ...as long as your not trying to be a smart @$$

If you are traveling on EML leave you have a decent chance of getting to the West coast, from there it could get tricky you may get real lucky and get something close or you may wait 5 days and get nothing.  The good news is you will pay less for a flight from the West coast than you would from Narita.

There are no guarantees it's always a gamble, sometimes even when you get on a flight the aircraft will break and end up grounded on the ramp.  That happened to me on a Space-A but the bright side was I it broke in HI two times.

If you can stomach a week traveling to the East coast you should be just fine.

A Space-A tip: If you travel with only a carry on you can get in the next line to get on the list before those waiting on luggage in the same category when landing in a new country and requiring a different aircraft. Sometimes they only have a few seats available so those first in line get the seats.

For planning purposes, you should plan at least on your husband having to pay full fare to come back. Since obviously he has a strict deadline, and you're returning at the tail end of the PCS season, there is no guarantee he'll get a seat. The rest of your family is perhaps more flexible. Go look up the worst full-fare, last-minute one way ticket back to Japan from the East Coast and assume that's what he'll pay. Then, if he ends up on Space-A consider it a blessing.

What about if we decided to travel to countries over here, will that be easier to get flights?

IMO, I wouldn't even attempt it in the summertime. That is peak PCS season. People are coming and going out of Yokota. They really try to fill those flights up as much as possible. There's a chance that they "might" release one or two seats if s/one doesn't show up, but the likelihood of you being at the top of the waiting list and 3 seats being release during peak moving season is unlikely. You will find that you end up spending more money on gas (getting to and from Yokota) and/or hotels while you wait for the next flight out if you didn't get on. It's a big hassle and not worth it. I've seen people attempt the whole MAC flight thing and fail miserably. The odds are stacked against you when you travel w/ a family.

I think you have a better chance at catching a military hop to Korea or s/where closer by. Keep in mind that you will be able to visit with family back in the U.S. once you are stateside again, but the chances of you getting to see a different part of the world once you move back to the U.S. is unlikely. Take the opportunity while you're here to see s/place you've never been to. It may be the only chance you get.

Good luck. Let us know what you decided to do and report back!

yoko girl, thats what im thinking, especially since we are moving back in January. I really wanted to see places over here! (not sure about korea) lol isnt a military hop and amc flight the same?

i would really like to go over to europe, but im affraid that too will be a hassle. maybe guam, australia, phillipines will be easier?? or does anyone know of any good websites for cheap(er) plane tickets overseas... all i know is like the ones people use in the states, orbitx, priceline, ect. i know those probably arent the cheapest we could find.

I don't know how easy it would be to fly to Europe from Japan. I've never attempted that route myself. I suggest calling the Yokota Terminal and ask them which destinations would be the easiest for a family of 3 to get out on. I believe flights leave to certain locations more than once a week. It's been a while since I lived in Yokota, so I can't remember which flights they are. I think Korea is easy to get to, which is why I suggested it. It's a short flight and great if you like to try new food and cheap shopping. Guam is more of a tropical destination. The whole island was under construction when I went there last, so I wasn't too impressed. That was 10 + years ago though. I know a lot of people really like going there for the nice weather and beach.

Orbitz and Travelocity are hit and miss. Sometimes you can get really good rates through them, and other times the flights are outrageously expensive. Rates change often, so check A LOT and you might just score a cheap ticket.

My Space-A experience was terrible. First, there was a family of six on EML leave that was at the top of the list. Almost all and any available seats would have gone to them first. They had been waiting for almost two weeks since Mac flights rarely have that many seats together.

Next, Yokota didn't have any room at the Kanto Lodge (a relatively cheap place to stay on Yokota @ $50/night), and we had to stay out in town at $150/night. The Kanto Lodge was completely booked for two weeks, so there was no hope of us getting a room.

Then we finally thought a plane had come (on day 7) with 46 seats (as you can see how many seats are available once you arrive at the Space A terminal) going to Hawaii. We signed up to get on the flight list at about 5 in the morning. We waited at the terminal all day until about one hour before the flight (which was scheduled to leave at 4pm). At 3pm, they announced the plane had never arrived from Singapore and the flight to Hawaii would not be leaving anytime within the next week or so. We were so exhausted and furious that we ended up buying top dollar commercial tickets.

Anyway, that was my experience. You have to have an extreme amount of patience and a back up plan if you plan on going from Yokota to any destination in the States. Going to Korea, Singapore or another Japan location may be a little easier.

My advice:

- If you plan to stay in Yokota to wait on a Mac flight, call the Kanto Lodge well in advance to reserve your room.

- Have a back up plan.

- Don't expect to get on the direct flight from Yokota to Seattle as those are reserved almost exclusively for PCS-ing families and they pack them full. We saw four of them leave while we were there (not during a peak PCS season, mind you) and none of them ever had more than one seat available.

- Don't listen to the opinions of the people around you. Everyone and their mother (including the staff that's working there) will have an opinion on when they think the next flight to [insert place] will happen. They will even predict available seats. The truth is, no one really knows until about an hour before the flight. Sometimes the predictions are right, but I found them to be mostly speculation.

- Have patience. Lots and lots of it.

From Yokota, there are mostly flights to Singapore, Korea and other Japanese locations. A few times in my week there, I saw a handful of flights to Alaska, Hawaii and California.

we are really flexible. i know thats the good thing lol.. we kind of just want to GO somewhere... i think i gave up trying to get to the states. i've talked to yokota, hawaii, seattle, and travis AFB and they basically said good luck LOL i would just like to go somewhere ive never been. So hopefully we will be able to get a flight somewhere. we just dont want to stay in yokosuka for a month of leave! Atleast visit 2 places

I took the Space A class and was advised the easiest place to get to via Space A from Yokota is Singapore. I actually did Space A about a month ago to Singapore and signed up just the week before and was the 3rd person called. Singapore is beautiful but also very expensive. However, flying to other places from Singapore is pretty cheap. I flew to Phuket from Singapore for $200 roundtrip bought the night before I flew to Phuket. But flights from Tokyo to Phuket were well over $1000.

Posted By Kayjaysvan on 05-09-2012 7:56 PM
I took the Space A class and was advised the easiest place to get to via Space A from Yokota is Singapore. I actually did Space A about a month ago to Singapore and signed up just the week before and was the 3rd person called. Singapore is beautiful but also very expensive. However, flying to other places from Singapore is pretty cheap. I flew to Phuket from Singapore for $200 roundtrip bought the night before I flew to Phuket. But flights from Tokyo to Phuket were well over $1000.

Wow, that's great to know! Back in the day, flights to Singapore were very rare.  I guess operational patterns have changed.  You are right about S'pore being expensive, but very easy & cheap to reach other destinations nearby.  It's great if you're not on a tight schedule.

Singapore may be expensive, but Malaysia is still pretty cheap. If you're up for an adventure, then you could fly to Singapore and take a bus to Mersing in Malaysia. It's only a couple hours from Singapore (by driving). From Mersing, you can take a ferry out to Tioman Island. It's a nice ride out to the island and the water is beautiful! This is a backpackers island.....a lot of European and Australian travelers out there. There is also a small airport on the island, so you could also buy a plane ticket from Singapore. I recommend the ferry ride though. When I went, I hired a cab driver to take me to Mersing and stopped along the way to feed the monkeys!

Here's more info on Tioman:

http://www.tiomanguide.com/

http://www.myoutdoor.com/tioman/


It's also relatively cheap to get certified to scuba dive out there, too. And, the fish are beautiful!

Here's more info on how to get to Tioman:

http://wikitravel.org/en/Mersing

This map gives you an idea of where Tioman Island is in relation to Singapore (You'll need to copy and paste the link below to see the map):

http://www.tiomanguide.com/getting-road.htm