Booking your flight

          The process of booking your flight can be very trying. Before you even walk into the travel office take a deep breath and be prepared for something to go wrong or not pan out like you had hoped. This will just better prepare you for a little hick-up in the plans. Take a look at your Sponsor’s orders.  On the last page there may be what they call an availability date. This date means the sponsor cannot report to their new duty station BEFORE that date. If you try to book a flight before that date they will not approve it. Not knowing what an availability date was, we tried booking our flight to arrive early and it was not allowed. If there is an availability date read ALL the tiny stuff about travel, leave, dependents and all that other random stuff to see if it says the sponsor is authorized to report early. Ours happened to have this written in it but the travel office people didn't read that, we just so happened to find it later. If the orders don't authorize early arrival then the date can be changed. The Sponsor will need to contact the location of where the orders were written. Our orders were issued from Ft. Knox. This is listed at the top of the orders. See, knowing and understanding orders is coming in handy now, right?  

                Flights overseas typically leave twice a week and the Sponsor cannot report on a weekend. You will most likely fly Patriot Express which is only for Military. When I found this out I didn't think there could be that many military families moving to Germany the same day we do. Was that a joke or what!? The plane was slam full. So don't worry, it's not like you're a random family carrying 1600 bags of luggage and 2 crates with dogs! It is also important to verify that concurrent travel is authorized, meaning the family can travel with the Sponsor. The military considers this to be a privilege, not a right. I was told this multiple times! There are many families who arrive to Germany after the sponsor. You can also get this changed. You will need to contact the location that issued the orders. If you come across any of these problems the travel people should be able to send you in the right direction to get things fixed but don't count on that 100%. Be prepared to go to one office and get stared at because they don't know who and why you were sent there. The travel office will also try to book your flight from the airport closest to where you are currently located. They tried so hard to make us fly out of St. Louis when all of our family is in the south. It makes sense that most families will visit family before flying overseas and may want to fly out of a different location. This can be done but you will pay out of pocket up front for the flights you want. If you want a flight booked from a different location, the travel office still has to book them, but you will have pay for it. If the travel office does not book them you will have no chance of being reimbursed. We flew from Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA then to Baltimore where the Patriot Express flies out of. So we had to pay for the flight from Charlotte to Baltimore. The Baltimore to Germany leg of the flight was already covered by the Army. To get reimbursed for a flight you pay for can be a little tricky. There is some form, which I can't remember what it is, that you have to have saying you were allowed to fly out of a different location. This will be brought to the finance office when you get to your final location for reimbursement of travel. Also be sure to let them know if you have any pets. There are limited spots for flying pets over so be sure to get your reservation for that as soon as possible!