AMC passenger travel to be more predictable Published Jan. 18, 2012 By Jeremy Webster Air Mobility Command Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Select passenger terminals across Air Mobility Command are establishing pages on Facebook to provide passengers more predictability when it comes to space-available and space-required passengers. The overall goal of the AMC Space-A Facebook program is to use social media to expand knowledge about Space-A travel, while providing a more predictable travel experience and making AMC the preferred travel choice for eligible personnel. "As a Department of Defense asset, Air Mobility Command is unique in the fact that we are responsible for transporting eligible DOD card holders and their families around the world," said Col. William Zeck, Air Mobility Command's air transportation chief. "What we want to do is provide our travelers with enough information to plan their trip and enjoy their Space-A traveling experience." In order to help travelers plan accordingly, passenger terminals will post historical flight information on individual pages on Facebook. Customers can expect to see the number of flights, destinations, number of seats available, number of seats filled and lowest Space-A category reached posted to the passenger terminal's page. For example, the passenger terminal page of Ramstein Air Base, Germany, displayed the previous day's historical flight information as: "For Jan. 8, the Ramstein passenger terminal had two flights going to the United States with 71 seats available and 27 seats filled. Category six was the lowest category selected with the date and time sign-up of Dec. 22, 2011, at 1:05 p.m. The flights were destined for Jackson IAP, Miss., Dover, Del., and Joint Base Andrews, Md." Travelers will also be able to the see their local terminals tentative flight schedule 72 hours in advance. The same information available via the local terminal's answering machine will also be posted on the passenger terminal's page on Facebook. This information will be displayed as a screen shot of the terminal's display board, which will show date of departure, roll call/show time, number of seats available and destinations scheduled for the next 72 hours. "In order to address the operational security concerns, AMC held several meetings, including a major command Security Advisory Group, beginning in January 2011," said Master Sgt. Chris Alexander, the command manager for the passenger policy branch. "Personnel from the information protection, Office of Special Investigations, public affairs, communications and transportation offices got together and thoroughly evaluated the risks of posting any type of future or historical information on the Web. The threat risk for travel data was analyzed and approved for posting on Facebook." Not only will the new pages help travelers plan accordingly, it will also serve as a customer service tool, officials said. Anyone who posts a question on a terminal's page on Facebook can expect a passenger service agent will answer within 24 hours. "The AMC space-available and (space-required) program believes these pages will be a big win for both the travelers and the passenger service agents," said Capt. Mitchell Parker, the deputy chief for the passenger policy branch. "These sites will allow users to read previous posts, interact with other travelers and allow them to make more informed decisions regarding AMC travel." Interested travelers can find their local passenger terminal's page on Facebook by entering the base's name followed by "passenger terminal," for example: "Andrew's passenger terminal." Each page will have a picture of the installation's passenger terminal as their profile picture to help followers "like" the correct page. Airmen should remember that even with the launch of these new Facebook pages, all flights are subject to change without notice, officials said. For a complete list of AMC passenger terminals that have a Facebook page, visit the Space-A website at www.amc.af.mil/amctravel.