Aircraft on the flight line at Travis (photo courtesy of DoD)
Flying Space-A from Travis AFB: 7 Things You Need to Know
Travis AFB is the biggest hub for Space-A travel on the West Coast. From Travis, you can take a hop in most any direction, but it’s a particularly good starting point if you want to travel to a destination in the Pacific. With three major airports within a 2-hour drive and base lodging only a 15-minute walk from the passenger terminal. Travis is also a very convenient base for Space-A travel.
Get ready to plan your trip with these seven things you need to know about flying Space-A from Travis AFB!
If you are new to Space-A flying, read this Quickstart Guide to Space-A Flights first to get a basic understanding of how the process works.
1. Travis is a very active base for Space-A and has flights to and from all regions of the U.S. and OCONUS.
Travis generally has multiple flights per week to JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam; Andersen AFB, Guam; Yokota AB, Japan; and Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson, Alaska.
Other regular destinations are Osan AB, Korea; Kadena AB, Okinawa; Ramstein AB, Germany; North Island NAS, CA; March Air Reserve Base, CA; and Kelly Field, TX.
The Travis passenger terminal publishes a list of their most frequent destinations on their Facebook page.
Travis also has relatively frequent missions to and from Dover AFB, JB McGuire-Dix, JB Andrews, and incoming missions from Naval Station Rota, Spain.
2. Most OCONUS flights from Travis are headed to the Pacific . . . but you might get lucky and hop a direct flight to Ramstein AB in Germany.
Travis generally has at least one flight to Ramstein per month. If you’re on the West Coast and want to go anywhere in Europe, hop this flight if you can. You can save a lot of time and money by not competing for flights at multiple locations within CONUS. It’s easy to travel anywhere else in Europe from Ramstein.
3. Travis is the #1 place to start if you want to fly Space-A to Hawaii.
Historically, Travis has had more than 200 missions per year to and from JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, along with occasional missions to Barber’s Point in Kalaeloa, Oahu (there are no return flights from that location).
Travis also has multiple Patriot Express flights to JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam per month.
4. Travis AFB has one lodging option, the Westwind Inn.
The Westwind Inn is 0.5 miles from the passenger terminal, and you can use one of the terminal’s luggage carts to roll your bags there. Likewise, when staying at the Westwind Inn the night before a flight, ask if they have any luggage carts you can use to bring your luggage to the terminal.
The Westwind Inn has standard rooms as well as family units, which have two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. Business suites are similar to family units, but slightly more upscale. Business suites are usually for O6/E9 and above but can be reserved by anyone if the rooms are available. As of this writing, all rooms are $75 or less.
You can reserve family units up to 30 days in advance. All other rooms can be reserved 120 days out. Maximum reservation for leisure travelers is 3 days at a time, except during holiday season (end of November through December), when you can book your reservation for up to 14 days.
The Westwind Inn is generally full during drill weekends (usually the first weekend of the month). If you plan to fly in or out of Travis at those times, look for a hotel near the base.
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