Space-A Facebook program valuable resource for travelers

by James Hodges
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

3/8/2013 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill.  -- Air Mobility Command began testing passenger terminal Facebook pages January 2012 with 10 terminals and now the program has expanded to 37 AMC and 8 Non-AMC terminals.

The Space-A Facebook pages, followed by more than 209,000 travelers, uses social media to inform Space-A travelers of potential travel opportunities and information that provides a more predictable travel experience and making AMC the preferred travel choice for eligible personnel.

Each day the passenger terminal pages post their flight schedules for the next 72-hours which provide flight destination, roll call show time and number of seats tentatively available. Terminals also post information about the previous day's passenger movement, by the number of seats taken and the lowest Space-A category selected. This historical information is provided to help the travelers plan accordingly.

Historical information lets travelers know which flights departed and how many seats were left available, giving them an idea of how to plan for what times and dates may give them the best chance to be selected for a flight to their desired travel destination. AMC has recently concluded testing a new standardized format that will improve how this information is displayed and added an additional piece of information concerning the number of travelers that competed for seats, improving the predictability for the traveler of their possibility to be selected for a flight.

"I follow the Scott Terminal on Facebook," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Herard, 375th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management and analysis craftsman. "We purchased tickets to New York from Southwest, then I noticed in my Facebook news feed that there was a Space A Flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York. We were able to get on the flight and save the Southwest tickets for another trip."

The social media environment lets travelers ask questions to the terminal and get responses within 24 hours. Frequent travelers also offer tips and advice from previous travels and hops to other terminals.

On the Little Rock Passenger Terminal page Sarah asked, "Do you have any flights to Ramstein, Germany?"

The next day the terminal responded, "Flights to Ramstein Air Base out of our location are very rare. I can suggest other locations that will help you get to Ramstein. Scott AFB or Memphis ANG might have flights heading to the East Coast. And from there, Charleston AFB, Dover AFB and McGuire AFB have flights to Ramstein."

The day after that, a veteran traveler pitched in some advice, "I've found that if you can get to Charleston AFB you have a greater chance of getting to Ramstein. We were stuck at Dover, hopped over to Charleston and got out that same day. It doesn't happen like that all the time of course but they usually have more GE (Germany) flights than any other terminal."

The Space-A Facebook pages have evolved into a community where patrons offer information and advice to fellow travelers.

While active now for just over a year, the passenger terminal Facebook pages are just beginning.

"We are continuing to leverage the technology to better serve our customers," said Master Sgt. Chris L. Alexander, AMC Passenger Policy and Fleet Management branch. "Passenger terminal Facebook pages will continue to prove a valuable resource to the Space-A traveler."

For a complete list of AMC passenger terminals that have a Facebook page and more information on Space-A travel, visit www.amc.af.mil/amctravel. For those who prefer calling passenger terminals, a contact list can also be found at the AMC Travel site. The AMC Travel site is constantly working to improve how it shares information about Space A travel, please provide comments and suggestion at: ICE Feedback site: http://ice.disa.mil/index.cfm.