A few years before the turn of the century, my aunt, who lived in California at the time, passed away after her third bout with a primary cancer. My mom, her sister, lived in New York and went to the funeral. She used a bereavement fare from one of the legacy airlines, although after 30-ish years, I couldn’t tell you which one. I just know that the price was insane, and that’s why my dad and I didn’t go to the funeral, as well.
Bereavement fares are offered to immediate family members who are escorting a body on a plane, and immediate family members who are attending a funeral with little advance notice. The price for bereavement fares is usually a percentage off the normal fare at the time. However when you’re getting, say 5% to 25% off a full fare, less than a week in advance, chances are the price is going to be just as insane as what my mom paid, all those years ago.
One difference between now and the 1990s – flights are much more full. If you’re shopping for a bereavement fare and can’t find a seat on a plane, an airline may also be able to help you find a seat, or at least give you priority on a stand-by list.
Anyway, DO airlines still offer bereavement fares? Well, some do.
Major airlines that do offer bereavement fares:
Alaska Airlines
“If you need to travel within the next 7 days due to the death of one of your immediate family members, you may be eligible for a 10% discount off the lowest available fare for your desired flights. This reduced rate is only available when purchasing your ticket by phone. Please read below for eligibility.”
The rest of the page goes into the airline’s rules and details for obtaining a bereavement fare.
Delta Air Lines
“In the event of a death or imminent death (for international travel) in your immediate family, we understand that you may have to travel with short notice. We offer a bereavement policy which offers additional flexibility on the best published fare for your itinerary when unexpected travelis [sic] required”
The rest of the page goes into the airline’s rules and details for obtaining a bereavement fare. Delta doesn’t mention anything about price discounts for bereavement fares.
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawiian Airlines only offers bereavement fares, “only for Neighbor Island travel between Hawaiian Islands. Please visit our Neighbor Island Emergency Travel page for details.
“For urgent travel to or from cities outside Hawaii, including North America and International routes, we do not offer bereavement fares. However, if you need to purchase a flight departing within 48 hours, we will waive any applicable ticketing fees for reservations booked over the phone. (There is no ticketing fee for tickets purchased on HawaiianAirlines.com, which also has our lowest available fares).”
Major airlines that don’t offer bereavement fares:
Allegiant
“In an effort to keep our fares low for all passengers and to stay competitive, Allegiant does not offer bereavement discounts or exceptions to any policy.”
American Airlines
American Airlines ended their bereavement fares in February, 2014.
Frontier
Frontier doesn’t offer bereavement fares (but they will work with you to change travel plans you’ve already made)
JetBlue
JetBlue doesn’t offer bereavement fares.
Southwest
“Southwest does not offer low fares for emergencies or bereavement. Offering those types of fares would make it necessary to offset these discounts by charging higher ticket prices and reducing the amount of sale fares we currently offer.
“Our goal has always been to make air transportation affordable for everyone regardless of the reason surrounding the travel plans, and our fare structure allows us to offer the best overall travel value in the industry. Our discounted Wanna Get Away fares will always be the lowest available fares.”
Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines does not offer discounts for bereavement (or military, children, students, or senior citizens).
“…our fares are already very low, and we are unable to offer additional discounts.”
United Airlines
United Airlines ended their bereavement fares in March, 2014 (Note: a month after American did. Because #keepingupwiththejoneses). Then again, it was only 5%, so “meh.”
So of the 10 major airlines…
…only 3 of them offer bereavement fares. And of those, one is only within the Hawaiian islands.
What to do?
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at them), there are airlines that usually offer dirt cheap flights. Of course, you get what you pay for and if Allegiant, for example, cancels your flight, you may not be able to fly on them again until 3 or 4 days from now.
This is a time when frequent flyer miles might be the best choice. If you don’t have those, perhaps consider alternate forms of transportation. Be creative. Renting a car, booking a train ticket, or carpooling with other family members could cut down on the overall cost of travel to the funeral, even if it adds time.
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