Bereavement fares

[HskrGrl]

Do airlines really offer bereavement fares and are they much of a discount? My grandpa passed away this morning and it sounds like my grandma is going to be following him within the next few days. :( I am stuck out here in Seattle and want to get home to Omaha to be with my family. The problem is last minute plane fares are so expensive! I will also probably have to take at least my 2 year old with me and possibly my 2 year old and my 4 year old. How would I find the cheapest tickets possible?

[IB4OU2]

Sorry about your loss :( ....When my brother passed away in europe my family got a fair reduction but that was years ago.

[pb4ou]

condolences :(

[mdklatt]

How would I find the cheapest tickets possible?

Ask the funeral director. When my grandfather died the funeral home referred us to a travel service that took care of the bereavement fares.

[TopDaugIn2000]

I don't know anything about the fares, but I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I sure hope you're able to go home.

[Frozen Sooner]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Yes, bereavement fares are available. Just go ahead and contact the airline directly and if they don't have anything available they'll direct you to a carrier who does. You'll need a copy of the death certificate.

[soonerbrat]

copy of the death certificate? it took a month to get my grandmother's when she died.

so sorry for your loss HskrGrl.

[mdklatt]

You'll need a copy of the death certificate.

Not if you make arrangements through the funeral home.

[soonerbrat]

i found this page...very helpful:

http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/Bereavement-fares-Little-consolation.html?id=14172


Do bereavement fares offer the best price?
To gain some insight into this question, we attempted to find the best deal for a round-trip flight between Boston and Atlanta booked only three days in advance. We first searched online for regular last-minute fares from three travel-booking websites—Orbitz, LastMinuteTravel.com, and Expedia—and every airline that had available flights between the two cities—AirTran, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways. We then called the reservation lines of these seven airlines to inquire about the prices of bereavement fares (travel booking websites do not offer bereavement fares).

Overall, the bereavement fares were much more expensive than the regular last-minute fares—a full $400 more in one case. The lowest bereavement fare was $360 from Delta, which was twice as expensive as the lowest regular fares, also for Delta flights ($183 to $188). Of the seven airlines we called, only one, American, offered a bereavement fare ($398) that was lower than its cheapest regular fare ($438). However, this price was still over twice the cost of the low Delta fares, which were offered through Delta ($183), LastMinuteTravel.com ($183), Expedia ($187), and Orbitz ($188). AirTran, being a low-cost carrier, did not offer bereavement fares.

[Zbird]

Do airlines really offer bereavement fares and are they much of a discount? My grandpa passed away this morning and it sounds like my grandma is going to be following him within the next few days. :( I am stuck out here in Seattle and want to get home to Omaha to be with my family. The problem is last minute plane fares are so expensive! I will also probably have to take at least my 2 year old with me and possibly my 2 year old and my 4 year old. How would I find the cheapest tickets possible?


Yes and they are a significant savings. Call the airline direct.

[soonerbrat]

Not if you make arrangements through the funeral home.


I looked up a few sites and actually, the name and address of the funeral home and hospice and/or doctor's name is required, not the actual death certificate.

[HskrGrl]

Thank you guys for your help!! I am going to call a few airlines in just a few minutes. So far the cheapest I have been able to find is $360 for a round trip with an almost 5 hour layover in Dallas.

[soonerbrat]

be sure to try orbitz & travelocity...the regular fares may be cheaper

[SoonerStormchaser]

HskrGrl...
Sorry for your loss. Sadly, most airlines have eliminated bereavement fares.
Here's what I've found for airfare from SEA-OMA r/t leaving on Wednesday, returning on Sunday.

American: $563
United: $437
Frontier: $418
Northwest: $549
The rest: worse...so fuggedaboutit.

Want my advice? Go to either hotwire or priceline...for priceline, start at rock bottom on the "name your own price" thingy and work your way up.


edit:
TAKE THE AMERICAN FARE!!! Trust me, that's the cheapest you're gonna get! Just bring entertainment for the kids. The wife and I flew OKC-DFW-SEA r/t this past weekend...4 hours on a MD-80 with no IFE is gonna bore the crap outta your kids.

[HskrGrl]

If I am able to go I will be staying at least until next week. Possibly until after Thanksgiving. But now we are running into the problem of my husband not being able to get remote access set up for work until next Monday. In order for me to be able to go he will have to have remote access so he can be home with at least our oldest. He can't miss school. If his boss can't find a way to speed up the process to get him RA then I probably won't be able to go back until the weekend or early next week. Of course it doesn't help fare wise that this is right before Thanksgiving. Prices are already inflated because of that. :(

[SoonerGirl06]

Thank you guys for your help!! I am going to call a few airlines in just a few minutes. So far the cheapest I have been able to find is $360 for a round trip with an almost 5 hour layover in Dallas.

I'm in the Dallas area, so if there's anything you need while you're here, let me know.

I've pm'd my phone number for you, just in case.

[Newbomb Turk]

sorry to hear about that hskgrl.

when my FIL passed away, I tried getting berevement fares for my wife. Every airline I called said they had other fares that were cheaper. :rolleyes:

[soonerboomer93]

if you need it, I can set you up as a premiere associate on united. I'm not sure how much it will help on lower their fares though

[Okla-homey]

If I am able to go I will be staying at least until next week. Possibly until after Thanksgiving. But now we are running into the problem of my husband not being able to get remote access set up for work until next Monday. In order for me to be able to go he will have to have remote access so he can be home with at least our oldest. He can't miss school. If his boss can't find a way to speed up the process to get him RA then I probably won't be able to go back until the weekend or early next week. Of course it doesn't help fare wise that this is right before Thanksgiving. Prices are already inflated because of that. :(

Greyhound?

I mean, it would succs, and take two days, but you would get there. Cheap.

I checked it out. Seattle to Omaha, three-fifty round-trip.

P.S. If you've never ridden a bus cross-country, its something you need to experience. You will never again feel sorry for yourself.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Sorry bout your loss