If you face an emergency wherein your relative is ill or there is an unfortunate incident of death in your family, searching around for suitable airfare can be quite difficult. There are several airlines which offer bereavement fares to solve this problem for you. It's offered to family members of a dead person or relatives of ill persons. There are certain rules which you need to follow and you also should be qualified to apply for such fares.
Airlines Bereavement Fares
Most of the major airlines offer bereavement fare, fares which can be done at the last minute, for those people who have to travel to be with their immediate family members urgently. Airlines provide discounts for advance bookings done, but in such an emergencies, you won't be able to get that. Immediate family members include spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, sister, brother, stepparent, stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, stepbrother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and stepsister. During the time of booking the ticket, you would need to furnish the doctor's name (in case that's applicable), name and telephone number of the hospital or the funeral home and the relationship between the deceased or the ill person and the passenger.
Bereavement fares are discounted fares, but may not always be the lowest fare available and these can be booked till departure time. Even though these are cheap airline tickets, but most of the time costly than seat sale ticket. They are quite flexible and permit you to stay for a maximum of 30 days and there are no minimum requirements. You can avail of the discount if you provide all the information before traveling, but there are a few airlines which give you a refund after you have completed the journey. Nevertheless, these fares are offered by all airlines and you need to apply for the refund within 90 days of completing your journey. Depending on the airlines, the discounted amount varies from 10 to 75% of the complete fare prices.
If you need more than one airline to reach your destination, then you need to ask for separate tickets and whether such a policy exists for that destination and airlines. If you want to travel internationally, the chances of finding bereavement fares are less as the airlines face difficulty in verifying the information provided.
Airlines Offering Bereavement Fares
There are several airlines which offer bereavement fares, but some of the big names in business like Virgin America, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, AirTran and US Airways do not provide them.
Air Canada
Air Canada provides bereavement airline ticket fares only for round trip bookings and are not offered on executive class. As per the rules of the company, you must travel within 7 days from the day on which you booked the ticket and the maximum number of days you are permitted to stay is 30. You can book the ticket over phone and provide all the information mentioned. You can also book it at the airport, before a flight and you need to furnish the death certificate or a letter from the attending surgeon.
Delta/Northwest Airlines
Delta airlines provides bereavement fares for international travel as well, but you need to travel within 7 days from the time of death of the immediate family member (3 days for domestic). You need to furnish the above mentioned documents while booking your tickets. On the other hand, Northwest Airlines allows it only for domestic travel. You need to pay for the least costly seat available and will have to provide proof that you have attended a funeral when you return. Once you provide a death certificate, the agent gives you a 50% refund.
Trans World Airlines
For this airline, you need to purchase the least costly ticket available. As and when you provide evidence, which includes a death certificate or even an obituary, that your immediate family has passed away, you get a refund of 33% of the fare.
Continental Airlines
Continental airlines offer this facility for travel within the country only. While booking, you need to give the name and phone number of the funeral home. If they can verify that one of your immediate family members is terminally ill, they provide a discount for that as well, but it excludes cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts. Some of the other airlines which offer these fares include United Airlines, US Airways, etc.
These were the airline companies which offer the best bereavement fares, but there may be some more. So to find out the best deal, you need to go to the official websites of each website and see for yourself whether they provide it or not. You can also opt to get the best deals searched through a travel agent.
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