bereavement rates?

[kelleyrn2000]

I know you guys can help me out. I just found out my dear grandmother passed away. I need a flight out of Chicago to preferrably Oakland airport. SF airport is a possibility as well.
I just checked flights flying out Wed coming back Sun and they were $400 or higher. Do airlines still offer bereavement rates? Any other tips to look for better rates? I would love to have the whole family come but unfortunately we cannot do that at $400 per ticket.

Forgot to add, I am not sure of the arrangements yet, still waiting to hear when the memorial will be, so right now I am just speculating it will be later on this week.

 

[lovebuzz]

I' m sorry for you loss. To answer your question, Airtran does not offer a bereavement fair, but I know that delta does.

 

[crashbb]

You can call and ask (you'd need to call to get the fare anyway).

Be aware that often the rate is actually higher than you can find on line. This is because the discount is from a FULL FARE ticket (i.e. the most expensive coach ticket possible).

It cannot hurt to call and ask (or search the airline's website - they often give details of the fare).

 

[momplus3]

As a travel agent, I will tell you that a bereavement fare is not always the best fare. Check last minute fares theought Southwest and Airtran. I checked and found a US Air flight to San Francisco for $435 (leaveing 4/12, returning 4/19).

 

[TnTWalter]

tuesdays are typically lower fare days so check in the morning perhaps. so sorry.

 

[bettymae1121]

As a travel agent, I will tell you that a bereavement fare is not always the best fare. Check last minute fares theought Southwest and Airtran. I checked and found a US Air flight to San Francisco for $435 (leaveing 4/12, returning 4/19).

Ditto, another TA and I agree with momplus3. It never hurts to call and ask but double check fares online before selecting a flight. If you do get a good deal on a bereavement fare, be prepared to answer a few questions like what funeral home is handeling the arrangements, unfortunately the airlines need to ask things like this to weed out scammers. I haven't had to book one in a while, but as of a few years ago they were asking questions like that.

Sorry for your loss!

 

[maggiew]

We just went through this too. My DH had to fly to Florida for his step-father's funeral. As a previous poster mentioned, the bereavement fares are a % off full price fares (if even offered). I found cheaper fares on Southwest out of Milwaukee (we are in north Chicago suburb). But last minute fares during Spring break were NOT cheap! But what can you do. I ended up staying home because of the fares.

Maggie

 

[NotUrsula]

My condolences on your loss.

Priceline can work very well for bereavement situations, but you'll need to be able to devote a full day to traveling to get there, because the connections can be slow. Get in contact with your family NOW and find out what their plans are for the services, or at least ask them not to rush them too quickly; if they are no sooner than Wednesday you could bid a flight today for travel tomorrow.

 

[candy0730]

So sorry for your loss. My grandmother passed last July and I had to fly to Tampa. I found it much cheaper to drive to Indianapolis and fly Airtran and they had better flight times. It cost $270 and I purchased the ticket 3 days prior to the flight. A week before that it cost almost $500 for my mother to fly to Tampa out of Midway.

Not sure if this is an option for you but since it is 1.25 hours for me to drive to Midway another hour to get to Indy wasn't a big deal.

Good luck, I hope you are able to find a decent flight.

 

[SandrA9810]

If you plan on renting a car, Sacramento isn't too bad of a drive (about an hour) if it'll save some money. Same with flying into San Jose. The San Fran airport is like less than 30 minutes away from Oakland.

With families living farther and farther apart, it seems to be getting more difficult to get every one together in less than a week. Not to mention the travelling expense. If they do plan it for next week the prices drop more than half.

Found this on expedia.com

 

[Zoemakes5]

I know you guys can help me out. I just found out my dear grandmother passed away. I need a flight out of Chicago to preferrably Oakland airport. SF airport is a possibility as well.
I just checked flights flying out Wed coming back Sun and they were $400 or higher. Do airlines still offer bereavement rates? Any other tips to look for better rates? I would love to have the whole family come but unfortunately we cannot do that at $400 per ticket.

Forgot to add, I am not sure of the arrangements yet, still waiting to hear when the memorial will be, so right now I am just speculating it will be later on this week.

I'm so sorry for your loss. If you're able to extend your trip just one day, you might be able to get a better for the return flight. A week is a "magic" numer for some of those fares.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

thank you all for your replies.

Right now we are still waiting to hear of the arrangements. My dad and I are the only ones not in CA right now. And my grandfather is in the hospital currently (grandma and grandpa have been divorced) after suffering a fall and bleeding on his brain. My dad and I are trying to get him placed in a nursing home but he has terrible dementia so he thinks my dad and I are only visiting him because we want to take his house. I feel so bad for my dad right now. I guess when it rains it pours.

I will use your tips and maybe look at different dates. I think the girls at work would be willing to trade some days with me so I won't take a loss of income too badly if I am gone longer. I could probably try coming back on a Tuesday.

 

[RangerPooh]

Sorry for your loss. A few years ago we were in the same situation when my grandfather died. DH called the airlines to find airfare prices and we were being quotes astronomical amounts for the two of us to fly from Portland, Seattle, or Spokane into San Jose or Oakland. In our situation we were also tringto beat the clock to make it home before he passed away. In the end we ended up driving and didn't get tosay our final goodbyes.

Anyways, I'm not sure if it will help, but look into flying into San Jose too. As a PP said, if you will be renting a car, then looking into prices for San Jose, Oakland, SFO, or Sacramento might help with the airfare rates.

 

[Purseval]

Priceline is the best place to look for last minute fares that would be closer to the price of fare sales that you have to buy weeks in advance. Look and see what they charge during a sale and bid around that price.

 

[HM]

I used Delta bereavement rate to fly from NC to MI several years back, for my grandmother's funeral. They gave me the best rate. You do have to call and ask.

Good luck with finding something that works for you, OP.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

Thanks everyone. I ended up letting my dad do the booking, and we wanted to travel together. There was only one non stop flight apparently on Friday, so he ended up paying an arm and a leg for tickets. He has offered to pay for mine but of course I will pay him back what I can. I won't tell you what we paid but flights to Europe would have been cheaper!

 

[KandiB47]

You probably already have everything figured out but just as an FYI: My grandpa died a few weeks ago. We had some relatives fly from California to Chicago. The cost of the flights were $1000 round trip each and they were offered a 10% discount if they could produce the death certificate Just like that Seinfeld episode. Who wants to ask for a death certificate? Sorry for your loss. Grandparents hold a special place in our hearts.

 

[mickeynminnie08]

Bereavement fares may not always be the best $$, but they are the best for what they are. Last minute deals are great, but what if you decide to stay with family a couple extra days....the deal is out the window and you have a change fee. Having worked for an airline in the past I can tell you that united airlines is about 10% off of the usual fare for bereavement and it is flexible on dates as well as not charging you a change fee. You have to call reservations to get the rate.