NO ONE can plan for a death in the family
or a medical emergency, and traveling long distances to be with loved
ones at such times can be a very costly proposition. Air fares nearly
double when the reservation is made less than a week in advance. But
most airlines have sympathy for such travelers and offer reduced air
fares in these circumstances --- sometimes as much as 70 percent off
the published fare.
Such discount are based on the
full-price (usually one-way) fare for the time of year and destination
to which you are headed, not on any discounted fares that may have
been advertised. Sometimes a fare sale can save you more money than
the bereavement fare. Check, too, on special last-minute weekend
rates, which many airlines advertise on their World Wide Web sites.
In any event, there is no special phone
number to call regarding bereavement or emergency fares; all general
reservations personnel are equipped to handle these inquiries.
Airlines require hard proof of death or an emergency that they can
confirm with the appropriate doctor or hospital. In the case of a
medical emergency, most airlines give discounts only if it is
life-threatening.
Some sample bereavement policies:
- American Airlines, (800)433-7300 or www.aa.com:
Half off the full-price, round-trip fare. Tickets must be
purchased within seven days of departure, and the airline requires
the phone number and address for the funeral home or hospital, as
well as the name and phone number of the passengers and their
relation to the deceased or ailing.
- Northwest/KLM Airlines,
(800)225-2525 or www.nwa.com:
Seventy percent off a full coach fare, but the ticket cannot be
purchased more than three days in advance. Only immediate family
members of the ailing or deceased person qualify for the reduced
rates; the airline requires you to fill out a rather detailed
form.
- Delta Airlines, (800)221-1212 or www.deltaair.com:
Half off the full-price, one-way fare. For medical emergencies,
the discount fare is authorized only if the patient is in the
passenger's immediate family and the illness is life-threatening.
The form is simpler than Northwest's and can be filled out at the
airport rather than in advance.
The cost-cutting, upstart airlines --
like ATA -- usually offer no bereavement or medical emergency
discount, claiming, with justification, that their fares are already
heavily discounted.
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*** IMPORTANT NOTE:
Some Airlines End Their Bereavement Fares
***
To simplify their fare structures,
including reducing last-minute ticket prices, many airlines
ended the sale of so-called bereavement fares.
Air Canada ended bereavement fares last
month, and US Airways has been phasing them out to destinations
that have simplified fare structures -- meaning in part that
last-minute fares aren't drastically higher than
advance-purchase fares, and thus doesn't offer bereavement
fares. Delta Airlines recently also announced to end its
bereavement fares for flights within the 48 contiguous states.
Meanwhile, four of the big six U.S. carriers - American, United,
Northwest and Continental -- intend to stick with their old
formulas for bereavement fares.
In fact, the trend toward disappearing
bereavement fares may not be great loss: Typically, bereavement
fares are half off the highest last-minute fares. But
last-minute fares are generally so outrageous that half off is
still more than what you generally can find by shopping around,
even last-minute.
It's understandable, of course, that a
grieving person might be unwilling or unable to shop around. One
option is to call a travel agent who will shop for you, for a
fee that typically runs about $50 per ticket.
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- Arthur Frommer -
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(408) 262-2304