So my trip to Guam got cancelled and I ended up in Eielson, AK. Military HOP flights are subject to change without notice and that's exactly what happened. The tentative seats available went from 10 to 4 to 0, so we asked where the next flight was headed and it happened to be Alaska!
I'd never flown on a military flight until yesterday so it was a very new experience for me. While we were waiting in the terminal to see if our seats had been confirmed there was a short announcement stating what we might be be flying with, "medical equipment, cargo, patients and potentially human remains". I freaking deadpanned, human remains. My mom started laughing hysterically at the expression on my face.
These are some of the differences that I noticed with HOP flights
- Seats are tentative until the flight is confirmed - a.k.a. you can lose your seat at any time
- There is one option for a meal, it's a box lunch with a sandwich (ham and cheese), fruit, mixed nuts, water bottles and a granola bar.
- You cannot wear heels or open toed shoes on your flight - you won't even make it past the security checkpoint
- The seats aren't like traditional plane seats, they're kind of like tarps on the side of the wall.
- The toilet was really high up - I'm 5"3' y'all keep that in mind
- We wore earplugs because the plane was so loud
- At the security checkpoint my bananas got confiscated - I don't know if this is just a Hawaii thing, but they're very strict about transporting foods to to other places.
- The terminal was a ghost town - it was a little creepy, but very cool!
Things I got to do that you can't go do on a regular flight
- Lie down to sleep
- Sit in the front and watch the pilots take off - headset and all!
- Boarded the flight from the runway, on a set of stairs on wheels - I felt so bougie, I loved it!
- Got my own personal safety briefing - there were only four passengers on the flight.
This was a super cool experience and I would definitely recommend it! As of today, the plan is to fly to Japan, so we'll see if we make it there.