When you need to fly out for a funeral and head to check the flight, it is obvious that at the last minute it always shows a skyrocketing price. But you have heard some selected airlines offer something called a Bereavement Fare. It is a short-notice airline ticket option that gives relief to your pocket when you are dealing with the death or imminent loss of a family member.
However, getting this fare is not something that would work similarly for every airline. Because Delta waives fees instead of cutting the price. Alaska Airlines still gives a flat ten percent off. Moreover, some of the big names dropped these programs years ago. So, how to request a bereavement fare comes down to a single choice of your airlines.
In such a situation, all you need is short, simple, updated information on which airlines offer bereavement fares right now and a step-by-step process to get it. And this guide has it and offers you exactly the same.
Bereavement Fares is also known as Emergency Fares or Funeral Flight fares that come under a policy exception that airlines offer discounts to travelers for flying on short notice because of a death, or an expected death, in the family. So, instead of paying the price that already reached that hike, you either pay less or the airline waives the penalties for same-day or late booking. And if you are assuming that you can get a big price cut, here is the reality check: it does, but rarely. Some carriers knock a flat percentage off the fare. Others leave the price close to normal and simply drop the change fees and last-minute penalties. Hence, knowing which one you are dealing with saves you from a surprise at checkout.
Airlines built these programs decades ago, back when booking a flight the same week could cost triple the normal price. A funeral flight discount felt like basic decency at the time, not a marketing perk.
The original idea was straightforward. A grieving traveler paid a real percentage less than a regular walk-up fare on that same route and date. Nothing fancy, just an honest cut off the top.
Funeral plans shift constantly. A date moves, a flight gets rebooked, and suddenly a $200 change fee lands on top of an already brutal week. Airlines used bereavement policy to erase that penalty entirely.
Nobody is asking for bereavement proof during your boarding time. However, airlines collect family and medical details during booking, allowing you to submit a death certificate or funeral program after travel within a certain period of time that differs from airline to airline.
Some still continue to offer these fares, but the majority have stopped them. During this time, the industry silently changed this perk to something that looks like a benefit only on the outside. If someone was raised with the notion that airlines were always kind to grieving customers by offering discounts, those memories were more accurate in the past than they are today.
American, United, and Southwest — three of the largest U.S. carriers — all discontinued their bereavement discount programs between 2014 and 2015. Their explanations seem quite logical when one is a bit more open-minded. With internet fare comparators it became possible to get last-minute deals through searching online without the help of specialized desks. Also, in this way, the bereavement published rate rarely outperformed what flexible searches yielded. Shutting down a low-usage program was actually cheaper than maintaining a bereavement line staff for the whole year.
Here are the airlines that still offer bereavement fares, and what each one provides:
|
Airline |
What You Actually Get |
Booking Window |
How to Book |
|
Delta Air Lines |
Waived change and service fees, no guaranteed discount |
Travel starts within 7 days |
Call 800-221-1212 or message Delta's Help Center |
|
Alaska Airlines |
Flat 10 percent off the lowest available fare |
Travel within 7 days |
Call 1-800-252-7522, Mileage Plan required |
|
Air Canada |
Discounted fare plus a longer window to travel |
Extended, confirm at booking |
Call Air Canada reservations |
|
WestJet |
Compassionate fare on Econo and Econo Flex only |
Trip must finish within 30 days |
Call WestJet, Rewards membership required |
|
Hawaiian Airlines |
Reduced inter-island rate |
Same-day or next-day |
Call Hawaiian, proof of Hawaii residency needed |
Alaska Airlines still cuts the price outright. Ten percent off whatever fare is lowest at the moment you call, no complicated tiers attached. Air Canada does something similar, and it gives you a wider window to finish traveling, which matters when funerals stretch across more than one trip.
Delta leans hard into flexibility rather than price. It waives fees and skips the late-booking penalty, but the airline itself admits a promotional fare on delta.com might already beat the bereavement rate. Two extra minutes of comparing both is worth it every single time.
American, United, and Southwest closed their formal programs roughly ten years ago. That door is not completely shut, though. A supervisor can still waive a change fee or bump you onto standby if you ask the right way, even without an official policy to point to.
Here is where the math gets interesting. Picture a same-day coach seat from New York to Los Angeles listed at 650 dollars. A ten percent bereavement fare discount brings that down to roughly 585 dollars, still nowhere near the 350 dollars a traveler might snag by booking two weeks ahead through a normal search. So why bother at all? Because a normal advance-purchase ticket does not exist when you are flying tomorrow morning. The discount is not competing against a cheap fare you cannot get anyway. It is competing against the full-price disaster you were about to pay instead, and against the change fee that would hit if the funeral date moved again.
If you're flying this route regularly, compare current pricing on cheap flights to New York or cheap flights to Los Angeles to see how bereavement pricing stacks up against standard fares.
Getting this right usually comes down to one thing: calling the correct line with your information ready before an agent even picks up.
Skip the app. Skip the website search bar. Bereavement requests only go through by phone, and you should pull that number straight from the airline's own official site. Several false numbers, masquerading as "Delta bereavement" or "United compassionate travel," have appeared randomly on various sites recently, but they will connect you to call centers having absolutely nothing to do with the airline. Make sure you know what you are dialing.
Know the name of the deceased individual, the date of their passing or the date of their expected passing, your relation to them and a phone number of the funeral home or the hospital. Usually, all this information is provided verbally by an agent right away. Real documents, such as a death certificate, may be required later, after about one or two weeks following your departure.
Is your flight with American, United or Southwest airlines? Don't give up immediately thinking there is no discount available in the policy of the airline. Ask an agent about the possibility of being granted an exemption due to your circumstances.
Clarify the price of the flight, the date by which you need to submit necessary documents and if the ticket could still be modified if plans shift. Funerals rarely stay on one schedule, and locking in flexibility now beats a second panicked phone call three days from now. Once your ticket is confirmed, save time at the airport by learning how to check in online for your flight.
Special Advice: One more thing worth asking, and people forget this constantly. Find out whether the fare covers only the outbound leg or the return trip too. Some carriers waive fees in both directions, while others quietly limit the benefit to the flight out. A thirty second question on the phone now can save you a fight at the gate later, when you are exhausted and just want to get home.
Traveling when a close one has passed away is definitely not what you would want to experience at all. Still, it is quite likely that you have to go on a journey at some point or another even after the funeral, and you just have to bear with it. Also take into account that, although bereavement tickets might not have the cheapest rates most of the time, they really mean to help by way of offering lots of flexibility for rescheduling or changing your plan, no charges for changing tickets, plus the fact they can also help with sudden booking requirements for times where you have very little time. It is always a very good idea to contact the airline's customer service directly to know their rules and requirements before booking your reservation. First and foremost, collect all required documents, check the various possibilities, and consult airline representatives who can walk you through this procedure.
If your flight ends up affected by a delay despite your urgent timeline, know your rights around a flight delay.
Frequently Asked Questions ?
Are bereavement fares actually cheaper than regular fares?
Sometimes, and sometimes not. Alaska genuinely cuts the price. Delta mostly waives fees without promising a lower total than a regular search would find. Check both numbers before you book anything.
What proof do I need for a bereavement fare?
Almost nothing at first. Just a name, your relationship, and a funeral home or hospital contact. Formal documents come later, typically within one to two weeks after you have already flown.
Is it possible to get a bereavement fare for a funeral of a distant relative?
This entirely depends on the airline. Generally, they keep their policies restricted to close relatives, which usually refers to the spouse, the parents, the children, and the siblings. Some of them might include grandparents, in-laws, or domestic partners. A few airlines will allow aunts and uncles to benefit from bereavement fares and cousins as well in certain situations. So, it's better to enquire than to assume you won't be eligible.
Are there any other airlines which provide bereavement fare to travelers on international routes?
Only a handful do. They are Air Canada, Lufthansa and the like. Also, the processing of international tickets is generally faster. Some airlines will reduce the time from seven to only three or five days. So, after being informed about the need for travel, you should not only call but also be ready for the call immediately.
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