     |
Compare and find lower discount tickets"DISCOUNT TICKETS" Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
A man was dying in a hospital in White Plains, N.Y., and his daughter, a college student in New Orleans, wanted to get home immediately. Booking the flight wasn't easy, recalled Victoria Assuma, a counselor at the hospital. The daughter and his family conducted an extensive phone search, trying to avoid the usual high prices of last-minute travel. She ended up with a special fare from an airline for such an emergency, but even so, the discount tickets cost $600 each! ``You can fly to Europe for less than that,'' Assumma said. The death or imminent death of a loved one is hardly the best time to be scouring for low discount tickets on airfares. Airlines try to help with so-called bereavement or compassionate fares, which they offer to family members traveling to a funeral or to the bedside of a gravely sick relative. Fliers beware True, bereavement airfares can be bought for immediate travel at less cost than full coach fares. But fliers beware: The discount tickets often aren't much less, the qualification rules are many and travelers can sometimes get a cheaper discount airfare on the same airline, even at the last minute. ``Bereavement airfares are extremely high,'' said Rosalind Warren, the manager of Empress Travel in White Plains. ``I really think the airlines could afford to be a little bit more compassionate.'' The airlines defend their airfares, saying that they allow people to buy last-minute tickets at less than full price, and that the return trip doesn't have to be booked right away. The discount tickets also are fully refundable and lack other restrictions of many advance-purchase airfares. To calculate bereavement airfares, most airlines knock 50 percent off the cost of a regular, full coach fare. Northwest offers a 70 percent on discount tickets. Still, rather than automatically booking bereavement airfares, passengers may be better off asking for other types of airline tickets instead, especially if they can postpone travel for a few days. When a reporter recently called American Airlines and asked for a bereavement airfare for a round-trip flight from New York to Denver, she was told it would cost $767, half of full coach airfare. If she could have waited a week to travel, the seven-day advance-purchase airline ticket would have been $435. Discount tickets often cheaper Many people who travel because of a funeral or medical emergency, however, may not be able to wait seven days. So they should also ask if other discounted airfares are available, even at the last minute. The same New York-to-Denver flight still had discount tickets available, for $604, or $163 less than the bereavement fare. But keep in mind that such discount tickets often have the same restrictions as advance-purchase tickets: They are not refundable and carry a fee, often $50, for changes in travel plans. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Passengers also have to book their return trips when they buy their tickets - a difficult choice for those who are traveling because of medical emergencies and may not know when they can return. Still, even with the $50 fee for changing a return flight, discount tickets often remain cheaper than bereavement airfares. But remember that your new flight may have a higher fare, too. In some cases, families may be able to beat the cost of bereavement fares by booking group tickets instead. If 10 or more family members travel together on US Airways, they may be eligible for tickets costing 5 percent to 10 percent less than the airline's 21-day advance-purchase airfares, which are already 70 percent less than full coach tickets. ``The fares depend on the market and seat availability,'' said David Castleveter, a spokesman for US Airways. ``It sounds callous, but a family might want to contact our meetings and conventions department.'' Each airline has own rules Each airline has its own rules on setting bereavement fares - and its own rules on how travelers can qualify for them. In the event of a relative's death, some carriers, like Delta Air Lines, require that passengers present the death certificate before boarding their flight home. Northwest dropped such a rule in February; now, when making reservations, Northwest passengers just need to tell the airline the name of the deceased, the relationship to the passenger, and the name and address of the funeral home. In the case of a medical emergency, TWA and American, for example, ask for the name and address of both the ill family member and the physician. There can be other rules, too. United and American require travelers to begin their trips within a week. Northwest says three days. Midwest Express Airlines requires that return trips begin within 14 days of departure; Northwest requires 60 days. American Airlines and United have no such requirements. Some family members ineligible The airlines have relatively uniform lists of family members who are eligible for bereavement fares. They include a spouse, child, parent, sister, brother, grandparent, grandchild, in-law and step-relative of the ill or deceased person. US Airways expanded its list last year to include aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and domestic partners. In general, booking bereavement travel outside the United States is more difficult. Air France offers bereavement fares, but El Al Israel Airlines and British Airways, don't. Both carriers, however, may waive the 7- or 14-day advance purchase requirement. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Bill Dreslin, a spokesman for American Airlines, said that because fares for discount tickets overseas are subject to approval by foreign governments, airlines generally don't offer bereavement fares on those flights. Still, Dreslin suggested that passengers call the airline to see what arrangements can be made. ``Generally, we'll try to work with someone, perhaps by waiving restrictions,'' he said. Bereavement rates are sometimes available for more than just airline flights. Ramada, for example, does not offer a formal bereavement rate for its hotel rooms, according to a company spokesman, but individual hotels often do. Recently, the Ramada Inn in Elmsford, N.Y., was offering travelers a bereavement rate with no restrictions for $79, vs. a regular rate of $122 a room. The bereavement rate also was less than the corporate rate, which was $109. INFOBOX Another Way to Get There Last Wednesday, four airines were asked how much it would cost for one person to fly from New York to Los Angeles on a bereavement fare for a flight leaving the next day, with a return on Wednesday, May 7. The airlines were also asked about the availability of cheaper discount tickets fares, which have many more restrictions..... Compare prices on discount tickets here /cheap airfares home |