The death or serious illness of a loved one can be a distressing and traumatic time for a family member living far away, and trying to figure out transportation and travel costs to a funeral or hospital bedside can be an additional stress factor. For this reason, many airlines offer bereavement plane tickets with flexible scheduling and discounted rates on last-minute plane tickets.
Types
Bereavement plane tickets are usually only available to those traveling to the funeral or bedside of a gravely ill immediate family member. Qualifying family members for bereavement plane tickets normally include a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, or stepbrother or sister. Some airlines have additional family members or friends that can qualify for bereavement plane tickets.
Features
Most airlines offer some type of discounted airfare for family members traveling to attend the funeral of a loved one or to visit a seriously ill family member. Bereavement plane tickets allow the purchaser to receive a discount on last-minute flights that usually come at exorbitant prices.
To purchase bereavement plane tickets, many airlines require a copy of the death certificate or funeral home contact information in the case of a deceased relative, or information from the attending physician of a gravely ill relative. If this information cannot be provided at the time of the flight, many airlines will accept it when arriving for the return flight or it can be mailed in for a refund.
Bereavement plane ticket discounts vary from airline to airline, with some airlines offering just 5 percent off the normal ticket price and others offering up to 50 percent discount.
Airlines with regular discounted fares, like Southwest Airlines, do not offer bereavement fares since their normal fares are quite reasonable.
Prevention/Solution
While some airlines do allow travelers to book bereavement plane tickets online, to receive the most helpful travel information and best discounts, it is advisable to contact the airline over the phone or in person at its booking desk in the airport. In the case of family death or illness, it is often necessary for sensitive information regarding the relationship to the deceased, funeral plans and the time table for travel to be conveyed to the airline representative face to face so that he will have a better understanding of the type of travel assistance required.
Considerations
Unlike most last-minute ticket purchases, bereavement plane tickets are usually very flexible. Most often they are booked open-ended with a 30 day window to select the return flight, allowing for ample time to visit and deal with the loss of a family member. Also, most bereavement plane tickets are refundable with no monetary penalties for date changes.
Warning
Unfortunately, most airline fares purchased last minute, even with the applied bereavement fares, can be quite costly. With so many discount travel websites selling greatly reduced tickets online, it is very possible that last-minute tickets purchased online could be less expensive than bereavement plane tickets offered by the airline.
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