So You Want to Fly Space-Available on a Military Hop?
Cargo planes
Cargo planes transport cargo, but they can also carry a limited number of passengers. The downside: There are no windows, so you’re basically in a big metal plane belly. The climate control also isn’t always the greatest, so it often gets pretty cold during the flight. The seats are sideways with your back against the skin of the plane, sometimes with a thin rubber flip-down seat or just canvas jump seats, and just about as uncomfortable as you think that sounds. Speaking of sounds: It’s super loud.
The biggest perk is that, once you’re in the air, you’re normally allowed to move around the cargo hold as you please (as long as you stay out of the stuff). So you can make yourself a bed on the floor and sleep, or stretch out, or walk laps without getting in the way of anyone or anything.
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