Bereavement Flights

[Bbgrizzle]

I have heard that some airlines offer discounted flights if you are flying to a funeral for a family member.

DH's mother is on life support, and we wanted to fly our family of 5 back home to Vegas to say goodbye before they shut it off. The cheapest online tickets I can find for those dates is $477 per person! We just moved cross country and we are poor now. We can't really afford that price for the five of us.

Does anyone have any experience with bereavement flights? If so, is it with only certain airlines, or do they all do this? I would appreciate any info you can give. Thanks in advance.

 

[mickeyboat]

I can only tell you of my experience, which was 9 years ago. I can't remember which airline we flew. Bereavement flights were not discounted all that much. You didn't pay the going rate for a last minute flight, it was more like the discounted price you would pay if you booked well in advance.

Also, they required proof of the funeral, and I think some proof of your relationship to the deceased. I sent the name and phone number of the church where the funeral would be.

I made my reservations through a travel agent. Maybe you could contact a travel agent, or call the airline directly. I suspect different airlines have different policies.

I am so sorry about your DH's mother.

Denae

 

[tkd lisa]

It's been a few years since I used them, but they really aren't a great deal. Typically, they just give you the best price they've offered, and don't charge you for "rush" delivery or airport pickup. It can also be difficult to document (some want a death certificate which may or may not come quickly), and some airlines charge you full price, then refund the "discount" after receiving the "proof". Also, some only do this after the death, not before, which wouldn't match your situation.

Have you tried priceline or hotwire? I hope things work out so you can get out there.

 

[poohandwendy]

Most offer a discount, but it varies from one airline to the next and the discount is not always a great one. It also depends on many factors, availablility etc. The best thing you can do is call a few airlines, explain the situation and ask for a quote.

I am sorry to hear that you are dealing with this, {{{HUGS}}}

 

[Fishbone†]

We just went through this in February. You have to have a proof of death for bereavement discounts (as minimal as they are) - we did not find an airline that would offer a discount for final "goodbyes". My grandma fell ill while on vacation in Arizona, and was given only a few days to live....my mom flew down on the first flight she could find to be with her, and there were no discounts available.

As an OT sidenote, my mom did fly my grandma home via a medical transport for huge amount of money so she could pass away at home with her family.

for your family - I know how hard this time can be. Being there for my grandma was the best gift we could have ever given her. I hope you are able to find a way to get your family there.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Thanks for your info. I called America West/US Airways and they said they no longer offer bereavement flights. Based on the info you provided, it sounds like it wouldn't help much anyway. I keep checking flights and the price keeps going up. It's $600-700 for the cheapest flights now on Travelocity.

This weekend is the big 4-day, 4th of July weekend. Not a great time to have to travel. Looks like DH might have to go by himself. I feel so bad for him to have to go alone, I cant' go alone with him because we have no one to leave the kids with. At least he can stay with his brothers and they will have each other.

 

[Sthronds]

I'm a travel agent and do bereavement fares all the time. You can call a local TA who should know how to help you. The best airline for bereavement and illness fares is United. That is basically the only one we use. While it will not be a "cheap" flight, it should be less than the regular fare. The other advantage is that the dates are changeable without a fee, in case you need to stay longer. This varies with airlines so check to be sure. United also offers illness fares which means that the person does not have to be deceased. The info you need for an illness fare is the name of the patient, primary doctor and phone number, hospital name and phone number, and your relationship. For a bereavement you need, name of deceased, relationship, funeral home and phone number and the name of the funeral director. Send me a PM if you need more info. Take care and good luck.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have read as recently as of this spring, most airlines are doing away with bereavement flights.

 

[Fire14]

if you have access to southwest they usually have fairly decent last minute fares.

 

[Sherri]

You might get real lucky if you try to name your own price on priceline.com
You say what you want to pay for all the tickets, basically they tell you yes or no. You may get lucky. Or if you have family or friends who have frequent flyer miles they may be able to give you that might be another possibility.
It doesn't hurt to ask. Good luck, and I am so sorry for you and your husband and your children.

 

[lUVTOGO]

Last July we left for Florida on the 27th of July and my mom passed away on the 29th. There was no airline that offered bereavment flights that were reasonable. Everyone we called did away with them. We finally got a flight on Spirit airlines for 378.00 each just to get home. We had to drive to Ft. Myers to get this flight.We left the kids in Florida with my brother in law as we had to fly back on Aug 2nd because the kids were dancing in Disney with their dance school and I didn't want them to miss it after all their hard work prepping for it. It was a tough decision to leave the kids but it was the only alternative we found that worked for us.

I hope you find something within your budget.

 

[Chicago526]

I'm a travel agent and do bereavement fares all the time. You can call a local TA who should know how to help you. The best airline for bereavement and illness fares is United. That is basically the only one we use. While it will not be a "cheap" flight, it should be less than the regular fare. The other advantage is that the dates are changeable without a fee, in case you need to stay longer. This varies with airlines so check to be sure. United also offers illness fares which means that the person does not have to be deceased. The info you need for an illness fare is the name of the patient, primary doctor and phone number, hospital name and phone number, and your relationship. For a bereavement you need, name of deceased, relationship, funeral home and phone number and the name of the funeral director. Send me a PM if you need more info. Take care and good luck.

I agree with Sthronds. I'm a travel agent too (though we don't do berevment fares much since we're corporate rather than leisure) and we've had the best luck with United. I've also had a lot of luck with USAirways. And as another poster mentioned, Southwest usually has the lowest of the last minute airfares (still high, but way cheaper than the most of the others).

Also, check alternate airports if there are any in your area, sometimes switching cities (and dates, play around with the dates if you can) will get you amazing results.

 

[offwegotoneverland]

I would contact a TA and ask.

My own personal experince re this just was awful.

Aprox 14 years ago my grandfather passed away. Literally while I was in the air flying to his funeral (last minute standby tickets) my Mom had to phone my Dad's family (it was his father and they were divorced) to tell him my brother had died (he was 20 ).

My dad could change his full fair open ticket to the red eye back (BC to Ontario) no problem...my stand by ticket they said I wouldn't get on (mid week red eye) so we had to buy a full fair ticket one way..300 something dollars (which as a 22 year old who had just spent 400 something on the tickets I had I didn't have) I think my dad or uncle paid after everyone said I wouldn't get on or be able to sit with my father...the man who just lost his dad and son in 24 hours.

Long story short after a complaint letter we did get a voucher for the difference in cost or something...but the real kicker was the plane was only 1/3 full apparently much of the weight for that flight is in cargo.

Moral of the story..personally I don't think the airlines care much about this anymore...but at least that airline is now defunct which does make me feel better!!

 

[KarenC]

When I was hospitalized a couple years ago, our daughter flew home on an illness fare. I believe she flew American. The fare was basically what we would have paid if we'd planned ahead, but far cheaper than the rate available at the time.

 

[Pugdog007]

I would check Southwest.

 

[arminnie]

Remember that you need to check southwest directly at their site as they don't show up on Travelocity, Expedia, etc.

You are also facing 4th of July crowds which make the fares higher.

 

[rparmfamily]

I'm sorry to hear what you are going through. Three years ago this week I had to deal with a similiar situation, I was called that my dad was moved to the Hospice floor of the hospital (he was a young guy too--50's) and was not expected to make it past a week. I called several airlines, NONE of which offered any sort of discount or flight. It was horrible. I got called on Monday, and had to buy tickets for Friday (4th of July that year) because of the cost of the flights and most were sold out anyway during most of the week.

He died on Wednesday, so I missed seeing him one last time. Very sad. Oh top of it all, DH was in Iraq so I had to deal by myself w/a 2 yr old and baby. I'm still bitter, can you tell? I think I ended up doing Priceline too, and paid nearly $450 each for those tickets anyway.

Best of luck to you, sounds like perhaps contacting a TA would be your best bet, wish I had thought of that!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I can't help you with the fares, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you are going through this! It must be so hard to be in a new area and now dealing with this.

 

[ahutton]

Another place to look that may not have come up already - check on the US Airways and Southwest "vacation packages". While it is a holiday it is NOT the busy season in Vegas and you might be able to get a Last Minute Deal (even Hotwire has them) for Vegas that could include hotel for quite a bit less than you can just buy a ticket. Both of them have links from their airfare pages to a vacation site.

for you and your family in a difficult time.

 

[Teejay32]

Two years ago I got one of those Get Here Quick calls on July 4th. I called American Airlines and asked for a compassion fare from Boston to SLC, which they had, they just wanted to know the name of the patient (my father) and the hospital he was in. I wouldn't call it a great deal, but it was better than the ordinary "I need a plane ticket for tomorrow" fares I've seen...and I didn't end up booking it because my grandmother's travel agent got a better deal for three of us with Delta. I'm not sure how. But such as it was, I know for sure AA offered it.