Any luck w/ bereavement fares?

mcurban

Has anyone had luck w/ getting reduced fares last minute for a death in the family? What is needed and what airline did you use?

TIA. 

NoVA-grl

We did when my grandmother passed away, but I don't recall which airline it was.  We found the flight, then called the airline to ask about the rate.  I know it has to be a member of your immediate family, whatever that means.  And I also remember that it wasn't all that much of a discount :-(  Hope you are able to have some luck with it!

mcgee

My sister and her husband were in Hawaii when my dad lapsed into a coma. They changed their flights and rushed home. At the time, the focus was just on getting there before he died, so no one bothered to negotiate with the airline. After they got home and my dad passed away, I think BIL called the airline and was able to get a partial refund of the flight, but I don't know all of the details. I *think* they used Delta, but I could be mistaken.

lovemydog

I'm sorry for your loss. 

I just dealt with this recently with Delta.  When you call them, mention that you're looking for a bereavement fare.  The prices aren't necessarily always lower, but they are flexible, meaning you can change the dates for no fee, so if you decide you want to stay longer or leave earlier, you can change the ticket for no charge.  The airline will ask for the deceased's name and relationship to you as well as the name and phone number of the funeral home.

 

ndluvsrk

When MIL passed away, we used Delta. It was still $$$ but cheaper than it would have been and agree with pp, much more flexible with the dates and everything.

 

 

fjaril

I think we also used Delta when my grandfather passed away.

*hugs* sorry for your loss.

labbielover07

I know that Frontier doesn't do it.  My MIL is here visiting us for a month, but is flying home on Thursday and coming back Saturday because a surgeon she worked for was killed in a skiing accident.  She was on hold for 40 minutes yesterday trying to get an answer about bereavement fares. 

lovemydog

labbielover07:

I know that Frontier doesn't do it.  My MIL is here visiting us for a month, but is flying home on Thursday and coming back Saturday because a surgeon she worked for was killed in a skiing accident.  She was on hold for 40 minutes yesterday trying to get an answer about bereavement fares. 

I think bereavement fares might only apply to immediate family anyway?

s-a-r-a-h

We used Northwest (which I think recently merged with Delta) to fly to Montana when MIL passed away a few years ago. Not sure how much cheaper it was, but like pp said, they were flexible with the dates.

ETA: I think we had to provide them with the name of the funeral home or something like that. Other than that, I just called and explained the situation and they didn't need anything in writing.

thethomps

American gave me a bereavement fare for my grandpa (and my family got fares with them for my grandma's funeral).  I had to provide the name of the hospital or nursing home where they had passed so the airline could verify that I really needed the fare.  The agents I spoke to on the phone were really nice and very compassionate.

ETA:  I forgot that you could provide the name of the funeral home, too.

kpowersw

I'm sorry for your loss.  I was able to do this on American when my dad had a stroke.  They do bereavement/emergency medical fares.  It's essentially a discount off the full price fare, which you'd normally have to get on such short notice, so was by no means cheap but every bit helps in times like these.  They just asked for the name of the person and the hospital he was at (funeral home if it's a bereavement fare).  I was able to call again a few days later and get the same fare for my husband and son when it was clear things were looking grim.  You do have to call the airline to get them, but I know in my case the person I spoke with was very helpful and compassionate. 

A&Jmom

I think everyone already covered it.  But, yeah when I worked in that industry pretty much all the major airlines did this.  It is still pretty expensive because they will only give you a discount on a fully refundable fare (not any of the discounted non-refundable fares).  This means they are very flexible with dates, changes that need to be made have no penalties or fees, etc.

If you know for sure the date you need to leave and come back it is usually much cheaper to go online and search for last minute fares.  One thing I always check is "last minutes deals" or "last minute vacations" on site like Expedia.  Only if you know when you are going and coming back though.  I did this when we needed to head out to NC last minute a few years ago and got the flights and a car for much less than just the flights alone were regularly.  You have to add a car or hotel to the "trip" for the "last minute vacations" but we needed one anyways so it all worked out great.

mcurban

Thanks, y'all. I should add, no one has actually passed away, but we got an email last night that it looks like DH's relative has days left and I wanted to be ahead of the game so that we weren't scrambling to book a flight.

 

Duckie07

mcurban:

Thanks, y'all. I should add, no one has actually passed away, but we got an email last night that it looks like DH's relative has days left and I wanted to be ahead of the game so that we weren't scrambling to book a flight.

 

Sorry to hear that. 

mcurban

Duckie07:

mcurban:

Thanks, y'all. I should add, no one has actually passed away, but we got an email last night that it looks like DH's relative has days left and I wanted to be ahead of the game so that we weren't scrambling to book a flight.

 

Sorry to hear that. 

thanks, duckie. it's actually ok. just a few tears here and there, but he's nearing the end of a hard battle w/ cancer. hospice has come in and he's at home and being kept comfortable. the *only* thing that makes me sad is when i think about his wife. they've been married for over 50 years and it breaks my heart that she is about to lose her partner.  

Kim777

No advice on the fares. Just wanted to say I'm sorry.