Bereavement discounts on last minute flights

I got an email from my brother saying that my Mum has taken a turn for the worse, so it looks like we may be flying back home on very short notice and very possibly just before Christmas.

Normally last minute non-flexible flights are very expensive. Frankfurt/Munich to Toronto is about €2,000 a person, but I've been told they discount them for the death of a parent. Has any one done this, is it easy to do?

Unfortunately I am now at the age were I've had a lot of friend's lose a parent.

Thanks

According to Opodo.de you can fly for €499.95 from Munich to Toronto.

I have heard that they do this as well. To keep things simple I would go ahead and call an airline and speak to someone in person. (but that does look like a good deal with the other airline)

sorry to hear about your mom

I did this last year. I called a sales person at one of the airlines and told them what was up. I gave them the name of the funeral home and the telephone number and flew at a greatly reduced price.

I did this over ten years ago. The normal fare was 200 dollars, but last minute pricing was 3000 dollars!!! They gave me fifty percent, so I flew at a discount of +1300 dollars for a grand total of 1500...

I had to do this 3 years ago when my grandmother died (only 2 weeks after I had been home for Christmas). I called the airlines after checking the online prices and their 'bereavement fares' were much more expensive than the fares over the internet. I ended up at the airport asking the different travel discounters who had a flight to Boston leaving the next morning and coming back sometime the following week. Got a flight on a Saturday for 283€ which was much cheaper than the airline's bereavment fare or the internet prices.

Sorry to hear about your Mom.

That must have been rough!

thanks everyone looks like things are ok on the home front, hopefully I won't have to face that for a while.

I suggest you get in touch with your airline or a travel agent now, and get the information you'll need later, even if things are going okay at the moment. I'm flying back to Munich tomorrow, I've been Stateside for over three weeks, and Lufthansa wouldn't give me any kind of break, so I just had to let the ticket go and buy a new one - and Lufthansa wanted $3000, gack. I found a ticket for $621 with SAS, just a regular one, because you can't do the bereavement thing until the person has already died, which my mom hadn't yet when I was trying to change the ticket. Based on very recent experience, I can tell you it's better to get there before she actually passes, if you possibly can. My mom just died last weekend, and while it was a really sucky experience overall, I'm still glad I was able to be there for it.

i had the same experience 4 years ago.brother phoned me and told me my dad was in intensive care.i booked the next flight out to UK cost 1500 DM . my dad passed away one day later.i was very happy i was there,didn't matter about the rip off plane ticket.

Hang in there man, having to think about this kind of stuff in a situation like this must be extremely unpleasant...

I just went through this again back in June. BA will charge at least half the normal last-minute fare; Lufthansa will charge considerably less. You have to call a couple airlines and ask about a "bereavement fare". Most are pretty good about it.

You can also get such a fare for a close relative (immediate family only) who's in hospital for terminal care -- most are actually good good enough to let you go to see the person one last time. You'll need pertinent info and either a copy of the death certificate or a paper from the hospital naming the patient, your relationship, and basics on the condition/disease/etc.

woof.

What bad doggie says is probably most fitting to your situation as a lot of airlines I heard about need an actual death certificate, etc.. if it can be done with hospital info, then I hope it works.

okay so i read the airlines websites and read the posts above. i know i need to call airlines, but does anyone else have any advice or tips on how to get a cheaper fare for deaths and the such?

Scroll up. Bereavement flights are never listed and are normally cheaper than any other fare. Since they're at the whim of the airlines, there's no set fare schedule; each airline sets its own policy. Call the airlines directly. They will normally require you to show a copy of the death certificate or doctor's note no later than your return, though some will allow for close friends with documentation.

woof.

I have just had some terrible news that my father has passed away.
So I need to get home to New Zealand for his funeral. I just called my travel agency and iasked if there is such things as compassionate flights or any special that they will do in these situations, she said there wasnt such things, but im sure that i have read on here before that there are. I have tried to do a search here but havent come up with anything, if anyone could give me some advice that would be most appreciated. Thanks

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Sorry to hear about your father. Hope you get over this period ok. My own father passed away suddenly just over a year ago and I was in a similar situation to you. I asked my company secretary to organise my flight and she was able to use her contacts to get a good deal. Maybe you could request assistance from your company? It is a long journey, I advise you to keep your mind occupied as much as possible. Good luck.

Sorry to hear about your Father..

Such discounts used to exist, however in the last 5 years or so air travel has become very cut throat between the carriers and many
things have been stopped or changed (No Discounts, Smaller baggage limits, No food on short flights, etc.) I don't think you will find
any such discount now adays with any carrier. You can however ask your company if they have any Corp. discount plans with any
of the airlines, that might help.

Most carriers have dropped this except for travel originating in the US or Canada. The only airline I know still offering "bereavement fares" from Europe is US Air, and that took a lot of phone calls to find out. You might be able to use them if you're willing to fly with them from Munich to Sydney (via Philadelphia!) and then getting another flight to NZ, but that's a l-o-n-g trip. Such a flight isn't on their site; you'd have to call their reservations number at 0180-300-0609.

Really sorry about your father. Good luck.

Edit: Your best chances look like Emirates or Air New Zealand for around €1200-1500. I don't know if they're willing to discount but they might drop your fare to the cheapest version (i.e., what it would've cost if you'd booked a month in advance).

woof.

I have just asked my (really good) business travel agent in the UK. He says that all the airlines will still do something, both in terms of speed in getting you home and cost, so long as there are seats available. My best advice is to phone each airline directly at as senior level as possible and to carefully explain the situation without becoming emotional. I did this for some relatives flying to the US for an aunts funeral a few years ago and they got cheap seats and upgrades to business. That was Continental Airlines. Will entirely depend on who you get at the other end of the phone and the willingness of them as individuals and the airline to help. Some still see it as good PR and good human kindness to do these special circumstance bookings.
Good luck and condolences.