So what's the deal on "bereavement" airfares?

:shrug:

Some of you (that would be, none of you) may have noticed I haven't been around for a piece. Turns out MomRobb had to get a new heart valve, a bypass, and fitted for a pacemaker today. On her birthday, no less. :eyes:

Anyhoo, I'm trying to get my butt up to Bellingham, WA (read: "so close to Canada you think the health care's free... but it ain't") to sit a little bedside while she's recovering for the next few.

So "bereavement" airfare: does it actually exist? And does someone actually have to be dead for it to pop into existence if it does? Or is "mortally ill" or "at death's door" or (to quote MomRobb) "one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel" close enough?

...and the prices aren't always that great.

"Well, just roll her old bones on in here and we'll just see how dead she is."




:eyes:

I would try the websites to see if there are any deals out there, I know short notice, but sometimes depending on where you are going, you might be able to find something more reasonable than even a bereavement fare.

very generous with this any more, from what I've heard. Call the airline and ask them specifically what you'll need to have faxed to you. I doubt they'll grant it unless she is actually gone. I hope her recovery goes well.

I believe you have to pay the full fare up front, then you get a refund after you give the airline a copy of the death certificate.

A year and a half ago when my father-in-law died, Northwest gave us the benefit of the lowest possible excursion fare from here (Kansas City) to Detroit, and didn't stick us with restrictions on re-booking. Which meant we were able to change the return flight with no penalty.

That was a year and a half ago.

But I can't imagine any airline requiring a death certificate, since those don't usually get issued for a while after death. I recall getting my mother's death certificate some weeks after she died. But I do think someone actually has to have died to get a bereavement fare.

Anyway, you should simply call the airline you'd be flying on, explain the situation, and see what they say. Sometimes you can get such good last-minute deals on the internet that there's no need to fool around with asking the airline for special consideration. Really, there are truly amazing deals available. Have you tried www.site59.com? It's one of my personal favorites for last minute travel.

because you can fly while they are still alive. You must have the name of a doctor that they could contact to confirm that the person you are going to see is, indeed, at deaths door. They are usually very flexible about rescheduling the return leg of the trip as well, to allow for the eventual "loose ends" surrounding a family death.

My mother was in such a situation 4 years ago. I flew in a week before Christmas, with my two children, on short notice and did get the bereavment fare before she passed. I was allowed to change my return flights twice since she lasted a bit longer than we had anticipated and there was a short delay in the services while we waited for others to get there from all over the country.

If your mother is not in grave condition, however, you might not be allowed to get the discounted fare, unless her doctor would be willing to say that they anticipate her recovery to be in question.

Hope she is feeling better soon and that you do get to visit her soon.

Except with American Airlines, who wanted to screw me on an airfare I'd purchased for a June 10 trip to see my mom, then my mom got critically ill and I needed to fly June 5, as immediately as possible since I heard the news that Mom was in her last moments, and they wanted something like fuckin' 1100 dollars, the goddamned bastards, JUST TO CHANGE MY OUTGOING GODDAMNED FLIGHT (FOR A LAGUARDIA TO O'HARE FLIGHT, NO LESS, WHICH AMERICAN HAS 23 OF EVERY GODDAMN DAY), so I called Midwest Express and they were actually nice and let me fly for much cheaper because my mom was dying. It was cheaper for me to eat the cost of the American ticket I'd already purchased and go Midwest, then to take Americans so-called "bereavement" deal and change my flight date.

Fuck American Airlines. I'll never fly them again. And I'd been a very loyal customer until then, too.

Anyway....

When my dad died, the airline let me fly bereavement and I just had to show them the death certificate on the return leg. That was Northwest that time, and they let me have an open-ended return flight, but, if memory serves, they only allowed me to pick once (but they gave me a week or more to make that decision).

When my mom was dying, Midwest asked for the name of the hospice caretaker, and checked to make sure that mom was actually dying (which is fine- I would expect a company to do some due diligence), and they allowed me to change my return date as many times as I wanted for no fee (and I changed it three times, so that was helpful).

but it was no bargain.

It's 1/3 of the full fare on Northwest Airlines.

In the case of Portland to Minneapolis, that meant $700 :-( for a fare that can be as low as $250 on an advance purchase basis.

I got it through a travel agent, and I didn't have to produce any documentation.

I flew home for my Dad's funeral, United dropped the price to lowest available. Basically, I got a ticket for the next day as though I'd made the reservation more than 21 days in advance. America West, the other airline that flies out of the town I live in had no bereavement arrangement and was near double what I recieved from United. That was two years ago, though.

I had to give them the Dad's name, Doctor's name, Funeral Home's name and that was it.

deadcenter

I just flew on SouthWest. The last minute ticket was no more expensive than a regular fare. It was my first time with SW and I have to say I was very impressed. It was very no-hassle at a time when I really needed to NOT be hassled.

My Dad died early Sat morning (last month) and I was with my Mom by that afternoon. I was so relieved to be able to travel that quickly and still pay the normal fare. United was 2 1/2 times more expensive for the same flight.

When my dad was gravely ill (no, I didn't need a death certificate or a doctor's contact), the lowest bereavement fare from Chicago to Seattle was $1400r/t!! From O'Hare, one of the biggest airports in the world with dozens of airlines, to SeaTac, another gigantic international airport-- the freaking best they could do was $1400.

My brother and I finally found a non-bereavement fare on Southwest (Southwest doesn't do bereavement fares) for $800, which was still ridiculous considering I've flown to Seattle four or five times since and paid as low as $178r/t and never more than $250. What also sucked was that we had to go from the north side of Chicago (about 10 minutes from O'Hare) all the way down to Midway. Then we had to fly Southwest, which at the time was still doing that dumb-ass-no-reserved-seating thing. Then we had to stop twice before getting to Seattle-which is really grea when you have no idea how long your dad is going to live and it's taking 8 hours to get there. To add insult to injury I spoke to a woman on the flight who was also going from Chicago to Seattle and she'd bought her tickets a few days earlier for $250r/t.

Way to take advantage of people in pain, airlines! You'd think BushCo was running the show.

O my! Your mom sounds like such a cool mama. I'm sorry she's having such a rough time. I just had to comment because that sounds like something my ma might said. (I lost her in 1995) Sounds like they might have shared the same silly sense of humor.

I hope she feels better soon.

And though we don't know each other Robb, I have to give you some of this.....:hug:

safe trip to you,

~Lisa

My shocked husband, hours after the death of his mother, bought two one-way tickets without realizing they would have been cheaper round trip. They were well over $1,500 each, and the flight got us there just before the funeral. It's ok, we thought, we can get a bereavement credit. No.

We filled out a form, sent in the death certificate, and waited for weeks to get back a FORM LETTER saying that we weren't qualified, because they only give bereavement credits for round-trip tickets.

We will NEVER fly Air France again. Since then, we have been back and forth to France three times on another airline.

Edited to say: I hope your mom pulls through, and that one way or the other, you get to see her right away.

I completely disagree with the person that said to avoid American. Not saying their experience didn't happen, but based on my TWO experiences I won't call anyone else. Long, drawn out story - but for example, when my flight out of Chicago to Kalamazoo was cancelled one of the attendants DROVE ME TO KALAMAZOO when we landed. 6 hours round trip for her, after a full day's work. There's lots more to the story - and the full story spans both trips, but suffice it to say - American deserves major props. If that weren't enough - they beat all other airline prices by significant amounts almost ALWAYS.

To answer your question (and to clear up some of the answers you've already received) NO - you are not only eligible if death is involved. The first time I went through this my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and quickly scheduled for brain surgery. Yeah, it was freaky and I didn't know if she'd live through it (not knowing anything at the time about brain tumors, or the type she had) but it wasn't a "she's DYING, come NOW!!" thing. The second time (1 year ago) really was life and death - as my stepfather had a massive heart attack and wasn't expected to last the night. (He lived)

What the airline required (they have varying standards, and American was actually the most accomodating - I called them ALL the first time, American only the second) was the name of the hospital my family member was in, and the name of the attending physician. That's it. They call and check to make sure you're not pulling their leg later - and issue you a ticket. I had a hell of a time the first time as I wanted to be there a couple of days before my mom went to the hospital - in case she didn't make it thru surgery, or came out not knowing who I was. Every other airline basically told me I was SOL since she wasn't already in the hospital - American worked with me, and everyone I spoke with each and every time was genuinely compassionate regarding my situations. I did know the hospital my mom was going to, and the name of the surgeon she'd be seeing for a consultation, and that was good enough.

Cost - both times cost me approximately $600. Spendy - but regular tickets were running $1200ish. The second time my dad found a flight into Detroit for under $300 - but I'd have had to wait 5 days for the flight (my stepfather wasn't expected to last a night - that wasn't acceptable), and I had to lock in a return date - meaning if he died, or I had to stay longer I'd get stuck with a huge fee to change my ticket.

The best thing about bereavement fares isn't always the cost up front, it's the flexible nature of the ticket. Both times I've done this I've picked a date a month out (they need something to put in the computer as a return date), and called to change it to an earlier date when things settled down and I felt okay about leaving.

Hope that helps.

Flew Alaska. Don't remember what the fare was, exactly, was a bit numb. But it was cheaper, needed the death certificate (the funeral home arranged copies for everyone who needed one).