I haven't written about YS lately, so I am going to catch you all up. Sitting here watching the President speaking about all the turmoil, isn't helping my mood!
YS has been in training for UAV for awhile now. He actually graduated his training back at the end of August. At the beginning of August, I was searching for airline deals to go to his graduation. He called me one evening and told me that he was graduating in the top 2%, so he had been accepted into the advanced program to fly the larger aircraft. A great achievement for him and he was very excited. He wanted to know if I would wait, and fly out for his grad from that program because it would be a bigger deal for him. So I told him sure and he said that it would be about 6 more months of training. So he graduates, moves on to the new program and all is well.
Two weeks into the program, he calls and lets me know that they are in big need of them, so they are accelerating their training (more hours a day), and now they will be finishing in about 3 months. He's been calling and loves this program and I have been very proud of him. So, he calls me Sunday and tells me they are graduating the third week of October, he has his orders for his next base (I can't tell yet), he is going to get to fly back with us and stay a couple of weeks before going to his next base (Woot Woot!) and that depending on which company they attach him to, "Heads up Mom. I may get deployed in Feb-March if they attach me to the company there now".
Tummy is doing Momma-worry flips now
Ok, my question. I have been looking at flights and they are expensive this time of year apparently. Anyone know of some good websites for cheap flights? I have looked at all the normal travel sites, you know....the gnome one and all those, and someone told me about www.cheapoair.com. Anyone else have any knowledge of good sites? Thanks!
Pooh, congrats to your YS!!!!
I can't remember the name of the website, hopefully someone else knows, but it allows you to search multiple sites at one time. I love Southwest, even checking their daily their rates change.
Yes, congratulations, proud mama!
We like SW but mainly travel in the western part of the country.
Have you seen kayak.com? It compares prices from different websites.
There's travelocity and expedia too.
But your best bet might be to fly 'stand by'. Are there frequent flights to his airport? Are they usually full? If you show up with only a carry-on bag, you might get in at the last minute.
Bless your heart, Pooh. I'm so happy you're getting to bask in this success for your DS. If I'm correct, this is 'unmanned flight' and military, i.e. Navy? If so, when my DS was in there were some nice discounts, etc. for military family. You may go to the branch of the service website and check those out. I would also personally contact airlines, ask for customer service, explain the situation and request a courtesy discount or much better a FREE FLIGHT! Also I remember families could fly free on military planes subject to availability, this was a long time ago. Best wishes and congrats!
Thanks for all the help. I just tried SW, but they do not fly out of the two major airports near me. I have checked all the travelocity, expedia, priceline, hotdeal...etc....Lol. I'm a persistant little devil.
Ruth, yes the unmanned aircraft but Army. They have changed a bunch of rules now. Only military can fly on military planes any longer. I tried his base website, but they are only offering hotel deals for families. We tried a year ago contacting the airlines to see what kind of military discount they would offer YS, and only 2 of them offered them and they were higher than their websites! People told me the same thing, that a few years ago, the airlines treated the military and families really well but it's a thing of the past.
Scoop, my DH is going with me, but I'm really nervous about trying standby because I would be scared I would miss graduation? I've never tried that. Do they guarantee you on a plane by a certain time or after a certain amount of hours?
My stomach just did flip-flops and I never even met him. Sorry, I haven't been on an airplane since Feb. of 2000. Sending love...
you could just drift there Pooh on that cloud of yours .......sending air hugs ..xx
I am excited for you all. Wish I could just buy you the tickets as a gift of love and honor for our military. I am just not in that privileged class. So please do whatever it takes to give yourselves and your son the gift of time together -- NOW. You all deserve it. Godspeed!
I forgot to write this in my earlier post, Pooh, but when my ds graduated military, I was recovering from a serious injury. I was alone and having a tough time also financially. At the eleventh hour, however, I decided that heck fire I was going one way or another. I got a ticket on Greyhound bus and it was a 48 hr round trip, no hotel room , no sleep except on the bus. I was terrified, but that was one decision I never ever regretted. I for one would contribute to the fund to get your family to his graduation!
Pooh, good luck in your search. Other than Jet Blue using the Auto Club of America site, I don't know where to find cheap seats. From my experience those cheap sites are hit or miss and last minute and I'm too much of a planner to roll that way. Ruth, I'm with ya!
You all have named all the sites I knew. I have lately enjoyed the "park and fly" hotels near airports - you know saving on parking - because I do not have any airport nearby. I typically fly SW but sometimes have found better rates with other airlines that have a special going. But don't forget the luggage costs nowadays!! Whew!
I am happy for you. My work involves the guys and gals when they get home from their military service. If you or he ever needs anything on that end of things - I'm here for you.
Thank you everyone! You can bet, we are going. Wouldn't miss it for the world. We can afford it, I'm just trying to find the best deal, because it looks like between flights, hotel and car (we have to get a car because the closest airport to him is almost 60 miles away), just for 4 days is going to be around $1300. That's not including food, gas and whatever else we do. When I was looking back in Aug. they were running tickets for as low as $150 a person round-trip. Now they are running around $380. I guess people didn't want to go out there as much in 120 degrees?
Ruth, you are a tough cookie and I'm sure glad you made it! Pen, I'm a planner too so it's hard for me to do anything last minute..Lol. I would do it if it was just me and DH doing something and dates are flexible. That's how I have been getting my best cruise deals! With his firm grad date, I know I need to bite the bullet and get it scheduled. Thanks Jane. I'm glad there are people like you there for the families and military when they get home. I know that's very hard for them. My niece is a Psychologist and married to an Army guy, so she works on the bases they are stationed at with the guys. She has a rough job, but they just got orders that they are moving to Hawaii in December......the dog!
I'm such a cheapskate!