Do Bereavement Fares Really Exist?

In today’s highly mobile society, last-minute air travel often becomes necessary when a family member or friend dies. This article explores the availability of “sympathy discounts” among major airlines and whether bereavement fares are worth pursuing to help you save money on last-minute flight costs in order to attend a funeral.

Do Bereavement Fares Still Exist?

The short answer is yes, a few airlines still offer sympathy discounts or bereavement fares to customers who need to make last-minute flight arrangements when a loved one dies. (See “Bereavement Fare Info for Select Airlines” below.)

Unfortunately, bereavement fares do not necessarily provide the lowest fare you might otherwise find. In fact, the fine print on some air-carrier websites actually cautions customers that sympathy fares are not necessarily the lowest fares available.

In addition, even if you secure a sympathy discount on your airfare, you might face greater restrictions on your flight options and/or the qualification requirements might prove burdensome during an already stressful, difficult time. One airline, for example, requires grieving customers submit a copy of a loved one’s death certificate at the airport ticket counter in order to receive a bereavement fare.

Why are Bereavement Fares Hard to Find?

Two significant events changed how consumers purchase airline seats these days and, ultimately, affected the availability of bereavement fares. First, the U.S. federal government stopped regulating the airline industry in 1978. Before President Carter signed the “Airline Deregulation Act” into law in the late 1970s, the government viewed air travel as a national “utility” and controlled which routes domestic airlines could service and the fares those air-carriers charged.

After deregulation, the airlines faced open-market competition and were forced to compete on the basis of airfare costs, destination availability, service, marketing effectiveness, etc. This led to the rise of discount, budget or “no frills” airlines that competed primarily on price, as well as the significant consolidation of air carriers. Thus, airlines today compete for airfare dollars primarily on cost and therefore routinely cut services and discounts in order to remain competitive. Unfortunately, this often includes eliminating sympathy or bereavement discounts for travelers.

The Internet caused the second significant change that affected bereavement fares. Before web-access became readily available in the mid-1990s, consumers contacted an airline directly or a professional travel agent, typically via phone or in-person. Thanks to the Internet, however, consumers could access the same pricing and seat-availability information once enjoyed by only travel agents or the airlines. This, too, resulted in the restriction or elimination of sympathy discounts for passengers.

The Bottom Line

If you have experienced the death of a loved one and need to book last-minute air travel in order to attend a funeral or memorial service, your best bet is to use a third-party site, such as Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz or Priceline, to find the lowest airfare that meets your needs, and/or visit an airline’s website directly.

While a few air carriers still offer sympathy discounts (see the list below), you will generally find that these airlines typically discount that price based on the suggested full fare — similar to how car dealerships offer discounts based on the “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” or MSRP. More than likely, you can probably find a lower-cost flight online using a third-party website, or by visiting a discount, budget or “no frills” airline’s site directly. Southwest, for example, simply states that it offers “everyday value” to all customers on fares to explain the lack of a sympathy discount. Delta, which still offers a bereavement fare, nevertheless cautions people that “other lower, more restrictive fares may be available here on delta.com” despite the restrictions and hoops customers must jump through when seeking a bereavement fare on this airline.

Therefore, do your homework and comparison shop online as much as possible, given your circumstances, because bereavement fares today are essentially an urban legend/myth.

Bereavement Fare Info for Select Airlines

• Air Canada: Offers bereavement-fare discount but restrictions apply.
• AirTran: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• American Airlines: No bereavement-fare discount available, but does offer “flexible fare options when booking last minute travel for a variety of reasons.”
• Delta: Offers bereavement-fare discount but restrictions apply.
• Frontier: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• JetBlue: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• KLM: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• Lufthansa: Offers bereavement-fare discount for flights originating and ending in United States or Canada.
• Southwest: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• Spirit: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• United: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• US Airways: No bereavement-fare discount available.
• Virgin Atlantic: No bereavement-fare discount available.

Sources:

“Bereavement and Emergency Fares.” Southwest Airlines. Retrieved March 21, 2016. https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/bereavement

“Bereavement Policy.” Delta Airlines. Retrieved March 21, 2016. http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/special-travel-needs/bereavement.html