Travel arrangements to CGA?

OhioMom88 · 04-18-2007, 09:51 AM

Question for those who may have done this before -- the cadet handbook talks about making flight reservations thru SATO for the cadet to report on R-day. It also states that it will make reservations for family members using their own credit card.
Before I call, I just wanted to find out if you can specify the exact flight that you want? I have already found a good price at a good time. Will they take our frequent flyer numbers so we get credit for the flights?
Thanks for any input.

Bossf51 · 04-18-2007, 09:58 AM

I believe the answer is yes to both questions. Your son's travel will eventually be reimbursed. But you probably can only find the answer by calling them to ask...getting close for your son!

BTW I only live an hour away so I don't have direct experience with this just remember these questions coming up in the past.

hpflrent · 04-20-2007, 01:43 PM

I have a 4th class cadet and went through this last spring so I feel like I can comment. The CGA will send you all the info you need for getting your airline tickets. If I remember correctly, that info was on the bottom of one of the letters we got. I actually did what you are considering as far as lining everything up, and then found out that I was jumping the gun and did not have the correct contact information and numbers that I needed. What I would suggest is that you have in mind the flights you want to take and the travel agency, probably SATO, will ask you what flights you have in mind. It is good for you to research these things ahead of time and then be ready when you call and make the reservation through them. We actually had them make our son's reservation and then we made our reservations separately for the same flight. And yes, you are able to use your Frequent Flyer numbers on all reservations. The people at the travel agency are very good, very efficient and very helpful.

hpflrent · 04-20-2007, 01:45 PM

By the way, I'm not sure what the previous poster was talking about because we did not pay for his flight and then get reimbursed; the flight was paid for by the CGA. I am trying to remember but I think they submit their receipts for their passport and the hotel receipt from the night before R-Day and are reimbursed at some point during the fall for those items. It has been a year and my brain is not as sharp as it once was, but I really believe I am giving the correct info.

OhioMom88 · 04-20-2007, 01:59 PM

I did call SATO (info is at the bottom of the appointment letter) with the flights I had researched that were the best price and time and nonstop; however, I found out that there are specified carriers depending on outgoing and arriving airports. The selection is less than desirable. The flights they could offer my son, ended up being more expensive for the rest of us plus had layovers - nonstop is like 1.5 hours. By the time I pay extra for my family's roundtrip tickets, it was better for me to purchase my son's one-way ticket and have him submit it for reimbursement with the rest of the receipts. If they won't pay for it, well, then I still ended up saving money on the rest of our fares and getting better flights.

hpflrent · 04-20-2007, 02:18 PM

Sorry you didn't have the luck we did last year. I think it might also be that (sorry I forgot this small detail), we flew back earlier than most probably did because we wanted to visit a few people in that general area before R-Day. We were also coming from several time zones away and wanted him to be really acclimated to the time change and also the horrendous humidity back there that time of year before he reported in. I remember a couple of kids who arrived the night before and they looked totally drained as they were getting signed in that morning. I felt bad for them because they wouldn't be catching up on their sleep for months at that point. It would have been a lot smarter to have given the kids a day or two to "chill" before just dumping them into R-Day. I found that the hotel reservations were more of a problem. Staying in Groton is very close (just over the bridge from New London), as well as Mystic (up the road a little bit).
Because of the late date at this point with flights and so many people making reservations, the cheaper seats are probably long gone months ago. I know I obviously have not been much help for you, but if there is anything I can help with otherwise, let me know. I can't believe it has been a year already. They are almost finished classes for the semester and most of the 4th class kids will be gone from the academy on their summer "cruises" around the second week of May.

OhioMom88 · 04-20-2007, 04:15 PM

I was also concerned about the son arriving there already tired and that's why I wanted a nonstop flight - traveling is so tiring when you spend lots of time in airports - and we are getting there Sat afternoon, so he can relax at the hotel and sleep in on Sunday morning! Humidity is summer in Ohio, so that shouldn't be a big issue.
Thanks for the info.