I clearly remember the time -- about 15 years ago -- when my husband's half-brother died suddenly and he had to immediately fly to Texas from San Francisco. He called our airline of the moment, American. The "bereavement fare," one way, would be $900. That was supposed to be compassionate? Really? He wound up using frequent flyer miles -- something that would be nearly impossible in a last-minute booking situation today.
So, we stand as two people who won't miss American's bereavement fares. They were always too high to qualify as compassionate. I always thought it would make sense to make the bereavement fare equal to the advance-purchase fare. The grieving person gets a decent fare; the airline fills an empty seat. But, apparently not enough revenue would be generated that way. They'd rather fly the seat empty, as they do a lot of exit-row seats these days.
We no longer fly American to San Francisco now that JetBlue's in the picture, but we still plan for the day when we might need to fly somewhere suddenly. The answer: Southwest. The walk-up fares are typically $300 to $400 one way. Not too expensive. We might also try to use Southwest miles, which carry fewer restrictions than those of many other airlines.
Regarding the outrage we're hearing about AA's decision to ax bereavement fares: These are people who never tried to use them. Those of us who did wound up angry at the airline. And that, I think, is why they've decided to dump them.
i agree. when my grandfather died, i hopped on my computer and searched expedia for a flight to denver. i ended up on a flight that left about 3 hours later and didn't have to shell out a lot, which was a good thing. i think internet comparison shopping must have something to do with it, too. it's too easy to see that you're getting hosed in your time of sorrow.
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