The Patriot Express (PE), also called "the rotator", are military flights but are similar to regular commercial flights. These flights have meals, flight attendants, and movies, and are not cargo planes but typical passenger aircraft. Only those who have a Military ID and their accompanying dependents can fly the Patriot Express.
There are several Patriot Express AMC terminals: Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) in MD, Norfolk Naval Station in VA, and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA-TAC) in WA. Travis AFB in CA also flies twice monthly to Hawaii, and NAS Jacksonville flies regularly to Cuba however, Cuba is limited to Duty personnel and sponsored guests only.
The Military Patriot Express flights do have small fees per passenger. Fees are for inspections and head taxes. Maximum costs per person for flights from the U.S. to overseas are less than $50 per person (one way).
For all Space-A Air passengers departing CONUS, Alaska or Hawaii, the following International Head tax and Federal Inspection Service (FIS) Fees were put in effect for 2024: International Head tax fee: $22.10, FIS fee: $17.93. The tax is $11.10 for domestic segments that begin or end in Alaska or Hawaii (applies to departures only). For Space-A travel within the continental U.S. on commercial contract missions, the tax is $5.00 for each domestic segment.
Another advantage of PE flights is that the schedule is posted at least a month in advance. Please note, Seattle-Tacoma International Gateway terminal does not list their flights chronologically but rather by destination, i.e., you will get the dates flights are scheduled to that specific destination.
Space-A Air is only available if flights have any available seats beyond the mission's need. Some flights will be packed and have no seats left. Space-Available seats will only be known three days before the flight and as always, is subject to change.
As with any military flight, the schedule can change, sometimes at the last minute. Duty passengers get priority over Space-A travelers.
The convenience of a regular aircraft and a relatively consistent schedule makes Patriot Express flights popular to Space-A travelers, which means seats are competitive, especially during PCS season (summer) and holidays.
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