=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2006/03/26/TRG75HJTHK= 12.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, March 26, 2006 (SF Chronicle) Last rites for bereavement fares/The few still offered aren't likely to bea= t airlines' other deals Ed Perkins On Travel When you get a call that a family member has suddenly fallen gravely ill or died in a distant location, the last thing you need to worry about is spending hours researching airfares. Supposedly, that's why airlines introduced "bereavement" or "compassionate" fares -- reasonably priced tickets, with no advance purchase and flexible return dates. Sadly, as with so many other niceties of air travel, bereavement fares aren't what they used to be. Bereaved travelers are often better off looking for good deals available to anyone. A reader in Burlington, Vt., suddenly had to get to Raleigh, N.C., becau= se of an illness in the family. She made immediate reservations with a legacy line and paid a bit over $500 a person for three round-trip tickets. She said that she asked for a "bereavement" fare, but claimed the airline did not offer one. She now believes she was seriously overcharged and wonders what she should have done. Hindsight is easy. What my reader should have done was drive three hours to either Albany, N.Y., or Manchester, Conn., airports where she could have taken Southwest. At this writing, Southwest's top one-way, no advance purchase fare is $137 -- about half of what my reader had to pay. Depending on circumstances, she might have done even a bit better. A few years back, all the big lines offered bereavement fares for travelers suddenly called by a family member's sickness or death. Often, they published specific fares or fare formulas, such as 50 percent off unrestricted coach fare. Now, however, given the airlines' financial woes and dramatic overall reductions in unrestricted fares, some of those airlines have dropped bereavement fares and others are de-emphasizing them. From data available on the Internet, I conclude that American, Continental, United and US Airways still offer unpublished bereavement fares, at least on some routes. Delta's Web site says bereavement fares are "no longer necessary" because its regular fares are so low. Web sites for Alaska, America West, JetBlue, Northwest and Southwest have nothing at all to say about bereavement or compassionate fares. Given those circumstances, when you face a sudden call because of illness or death, you should first call any airline that serves your local airport and flies to your destination. If that list includes American, Continental, United or US Airways, call each airline and ask about a bereavement or compassionate fare. You have to call; no line offers bereavement fares through its Web site. Determine your best deal and ask the airline to specify exactly what it needs in the way of paperwork -- a letter from a doctor, death or funeral notice, whatever. If the price looks reasonable, take it. If that list includes a low-fare line such as AirTran, JetBlue, Southwest or one of the smaller lines -- lines that don't offer bereavement fares -- determine the best ordinary fare for which you qualify. If that's better than the best bereavement deal, take it. If no low-fare line serves your community, and if the best bereavement fare you can find is still too high, consider driving to/from alternate airports where you can catch a low-fare line. That applies at either end -- or even both ends -- of your trip. In my reader's case, that means driving to Albany or Manchester. Locate other possible low-fare options by checking out the various lines' route maps. As one more alternative, think seriously about a travel agent. A good local agent should know which local airlines offer decent bereavement fares and which don't, and also which low-fare lines are best. Given that you're probably under a lot of stress already, paying an agent $25 or $35 might be the best possible use of your money and your time. ---------------= ------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2006 SF Chronicle