Last minute travel required by a death in the family sometimes requires the family to incur high costs if airfare is required. However, most airlines offer a bereavement or compassion airfare price. This fare requires the person to provide certain information to determine that the death has occurred and the customer is not providing false information to receive a lesser fare, but it can result in a large discount.
Airlines frequently offer a bereavement fare for people who are traveling for the funeral of a family member. They require a number of verifiable facts such as the name of the deceased; traveler's relationship to the deceased; the name, address and telephone number of the funeral home; date of the service; and a copy of the death certificate if paperwork is submitted after the death for a refund after the air travel is completed.
Immediate family members such as parents, grandparents, spouse, cousins, aunts or uncles are included. Typically, in-laws and step-family members are also eligible. Most airlines have expanded the category to include legal guardians or domestic partners.
Although all airlines have a policy for bereavement or compassion airfares, they do not always provide the policy on the company's website. Most airlines, if they offer a discount, require that the travel arrangements be made by contacting a ticketing agent. Some airlines, such as United, offer discounts up to 10 percent of the set fare with a waiver in the booking fee. The occasional airline, such as Continental, allows booking of bereavement fares online offering anywhere from a 5 to 20 percent discount based on the original fare.
There are some low-cost airlines that do not provide bereavement or compassion fares for customers. Some, such as Frontier Airlines, state that they provide the lowest possible airfare to all of their customers and therefore do not lower prices for emergencies. Other airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, do not offer bereavement fares but may still be a lower cost choice than a larger airline due to their overall lower priced fares.
While most airlines do allow bereavement fares to be applied to first class seating, they do not allow for upgrades to first class if the ticket was not purchased that way. Also, customers with previously purchased tickets that have not been used should check if a bereavement fare can be applied to the ticket. Many airlines allow this, but the ticketing agent must be contacted. Tickets may also have a time limit to begin travel since it is to be used for an upcoming funeral.
