R.I.P. Bereavement Fares?

I recently had to fly across the country on short notice for a funeral. I found a round trip ticket to New York for a little over $700 on Virgin America and considered myself lucky, as other airlines were showing prices of $1200 or more for a similar last minute trip. When I returned from my travels, I got to wondering if I has been too hasty in buying that Virgin America ticket, and if I could have gotten a better deal if I had investigated so-called bereavement fares from the major airlines . My conclusion: probably not.

For those of you not aware (or for those of you, like me, whose only previous knowledge on this topic comes from a particularly funny Seinfeld episode), bereavement fares, also known as "compassion fares," are special fares offered by airlines for customers who are traveling for a family member's funeral. They may also be offered in times of imminent death, as in a terminally ill family member.

These fares are offered at a discount on the full, unrestricted fare. That distinction is critical--I can guarantee that the vast majority of you have not paid for a full, unrestricted fare since the dawn of the internet. And the vast majority of the time, a simple internet search is going to get you a better price than a bereavement fare direct from an airline. In addition, I could not find any airline that allows you to book a bereavement fare online. You have to call the airline, explain your relationship to the deceased, give them the funeral home, hospice or hospital information and then wait to hear what your discount is. (One exception to this being Continental, which clearly lists their bereavement discounts on their site. The discounts are pretty small, but at least they're up front about it. United also lists a specific discount on its site.) And some airlines do, as in the Seinfeld episode, require you to pay full price, then furnish a death certificate later for a partial refund.

Details you really want to worry about when grieving the loss of a loved one. Ugh.

To be fair, bereavement fares do offer some advantages to lower-priced, online fares. You can usually book them right up until departure time. Most also offer flexibility, such as free flight changes. And the fact that bereavement fares are available at all is somewhat of an improvement over the last several years, when airlines like Delta and Northwest stopped offering them all together (both airlines have since re-instated their programs).

I believe the average person does not have the time, inclination or emotional fortitude to call individual airlines to compare bereavement discounts while bereaved. Especially when you can hop on Travelocity or Orbitz and usually get a ticket for hundreds of dollars less. Everyone must make her own decision, of course. If you are in the unfortunate situation of needing to travel last minute because of a family member's death or illness, here are some other bereavement fare tidbits to help you along.

The Good

Delta, Continental and American Airlines all specifically include "Domestic Partners" in their bereavement fare policies.

American Airlines specifically mentions our military heroes: "Relatives or friends who wish to travel and state their reason for travel is a U.S. soldier who is deceased, injured, missing in action, or a prisoner of war, will be allowed to travel using our Compassion fares. This applies for both domestic and international travel. Travel can be to join the soldier or a family member."

The Bad

Northwest Airlines only offers bereavement fares to members of its WorldPerks frequent flier program. You can sign up on the spot. If that's something you'd like to spend time doing during a time of crisis. I also read in USA Today that Northwest requires a Saturday night stay-over for some round-trip bereavement fares.

The Ugly

Lower priced airlines such as Virgin America, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines do not offer bereavement fares. Nor does US Air, from what I could find out.

For further reading, About.com has a good primer on bereavement fares. And Queercents has the lowdown on bereavement fares for GLBT families.

Please note that airline bereavement fare policies are subject to change at any time. The only way to know a specific airline's policy for certain is to call them at the time of travel.