Bereavement Flight Prices

[LIP MAN]

Hi CP,

Sadly, my Grandmother has fallen ill, and I'm looking at flying to Windsor Ontario to visit. I've never used the bereavement flight rates, and was wondering if anyone has any tips, or anything else I should know regarding securing better rates. I'm actually looking on behalf of my brothers family, whom is a long time poster on here (TheCommodoreAfro).

Thanks in advance.

[FlamingHomer]

Sorry to hear that your Grandmother is not well.

Unless it's changed recently, you pay the going rate up front then get a discount once you provide a copy of a death certificate. It was about half price after that.

[Northendzone]

sorry to hear about your grandmother - since you mention she has fallen ill, i am assuming that she is still alive and to the best of my knowledge, the bereveament rates only apply when there is a death.

i also believe that airlines are closing the price gap between their regular price and this discounted rate.

[BlackEleven]

I've looked into this before with Air Canada. This was about two years ago so you may want to check if policies have changed since then. At that time, you had to pay fare and apply for a reimbursement for the price difference after the face. Also, AC only gave bereavement fares on international flights and only from the full price fare. If you took a discount fare then you were ineligible for it.

[You Need a Thneed]

discount fares are usually cheaper then bereavement fares.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

discount fares are usually cheaper then bereavement fares.

Yes they are because the bereavement discount rate is off full fare prices.

[Devils'Advocate]

This is coming from memory, but I think I was told by a friend that:
Westjet has bereavement fares within Canada, but only in the event that the person is already passed and you are going to the funeral.
Air Canada allows bereavement fares for "imminent death", but only offer bereavement fares on international flights.

[Thor]

In my time as a travel agent I never once found a bereavement fare for cheaper than just what was the cheapest available at the time.

These things are truly more of a "in the old days" kind of thing, most airlines now have either stopped offering them or just do their best afterwards to discount for those people that take the effort to go through the hassle of getting their money back.

[iggy_oi]

I flew with air Canada about 2 years ago for a funeral, what they did for me was offer the lowest priced fare for the days I was traveling on any flight for that day. So if a red eye flight was 300$ cheaper then a flight leaving at 10 am I got the red eye price on the 10 am flight. Also I'm pretty sure I remember them saying if there were only first class seats available you would get those at the economy class prices. Pretty sure they don't offer any kind of discount other then that though.

[MoneyGuy]

A friend of mine who recently had to travel to the States for a family member's death told me that it's very, very hard to get a bereavement discount any more. And, your grandmother has not died so there is really no bereavement. I doubt you'll get anything.

Very sorry about your grandmother.

[You Need a Thneed]

discount fares are usually cheaper then bereavement fares.

[Jimmy Stang]

One thing to try would be to see if any family members and/or friends have a stash of Air Miles or Aeroplan points that they're not planning on using. You'll still be on the hook for the taxes, which is often the most expensive part, but it might take the edge off a little. Sometimes people collect points and don't realize how many they accumulate. Sorry to hear about your grandmother and the circumstances of your trip.