Planning your travel to a funeral can be a stressful and burdensome task; between grieving for the loss of a family member or loved one and alerting others to the service, comparing the best airfare hardly seems like an activity that you want to give your time and energy to. However, there are certain tricks that you can use to not only get the best airfare, but to make traveling to a funeral a smooth and stress-free experience for everyone involved. Use these techniques when it’s time to plan your travel, and you’ll spend less of your precious time playing part-time travel agent and have more time to grieve and remember the life of the deceased.
Unless your loved one was gravely ill for some time, purchasing airfare to attend a funeral can often be quite costly, as funerals are usually held less than a week from the date of death. You can end up paying a lot of money for last-minute airfare tickets – unless, of course, you ask for bereavement airfare discounts. Bereavement airfare is typically available for family members of the deceased who are traveling to a funeral, and can be booked right up until departure time. You won’t be able to secure bereavement airfare through travel websites, so call airlines and ask about their special discounts. You can grab airfare for a discount of up to 50 percent off, with some airlines even offering 75 percent off a full fare. However, if your travels require more than one airline, your bereavement airfare will only be available on the requested flight. Call the other airlines to ensure that you’re being offered discounted airfare.
