Bereavement Fares

My father had a stroke this morning. He already had Alzheimer's Disease and doctor says he only has a few days left.  I need to get back to US in the next day or two.  I've been searching on dozens of websites but cant find anything cheaper than $1,000. 

I called United and the so-called bereavement fare was actually more than some of the travel websites like Orbitz.  The only difference is it was a flexible ticket so I could change easily with only a small change fee. 

Anyone had any luck finding good last-minute transatlantic fares? Thanks.

i'm so sorry.

So sorry to hear of you fathers illness  :\\\'(

Bereavement fares are always more expensive because they are completely flexible you can change them as much as you like without penalty. Same with 'full fare' tickets. Super saver tickets usually require at least a two week advance purchase. Last minute fares are always expensive. Have you checked with Expedia and Travelocity?

When my grandmother passed away, I wasn't able to find a cheap fare (under £600), so I used airmiles.  Is that an option?  You can buy up to a certain amount if you need to top off your supply to reach the award level.  i.e. you have 35,000, but the flight costs 40,000.  You can usually buy the 5000 for not that much.

I'm so sorry about your father, apstyle. Hang in there.

I have no advice about bereavement fares, but you might try www.lastminute.com. Not sure if it's any help, but it might be worth a look.

(I don't know where you're going to or from, but just as an example I plugged in Boston-to-London for tomorrow and came up with a return fare of £333.)

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. It was kind of expected but I didn't think it would be this soon. I was hoping he would hang on for our annual August trip home (i just shelled out a boatload of cash for those tickets).

I've searched about 2 dozen websites and not much good stuff out there. I'm flying to Washington. I found a few cheap fares today but they were long roundabout trips that took me out of the way (cheapest is Northwest but they fly to Minneapolis, then I have to fly backwards to DC).  I'm probably just going to fly United even if it costs more because it's nonstop; Dulles is a United hub and I'm United frequent flyer member.  I dont have enough miles to get a reward ticket. 

United website says they have bereavement fares but you have to call for the price. I've been sitting here on hold for 20 minutes now.  Idiots.

Incidentaly, the United.com website which claims to have the cheapest fares is NOT the cheapest. Travelocity and CheapTickets.com are about $100 cheaper for the exact same flight. Go figure.

Also just a note about bereavement fares...the reason you have to call the airlines to get a price is because they ask you all sorts of really horrible questions such as the name of the deceased, the funeral home and their number. Then they actually call and verify it. I had to do this a number of times and it isnt pleasant.   

I'm so sorry to hear about your father.

I had a family member pass away last year and had no luck finding bereavement fairs under £1000.00. Luckily I was able to use my airline miles. I hope United has something decent for you.

So sorry, apstyle.  I've been there, myself.  Hugs to you and your family.

try virgin, as they fly into dulles. as recently as last year, their policy was to sell you a last minute ticket for the cheapest they had ever sold it, provided you supply proof of bereavement. we have used them twice , flying premium economy. hope all goes well.

Any chance you could change the tickets you booked in August?  When my mom was over in January we had a call in the middle of the night saying that my stepdad had been rushed to hospital and was due to have open heart surgery within 10 hours (his fourth open heart).  Mom was devastated and rung up USAirways to change her booking.  I think she paid $100, but they let her change her existing ticket to fly on another day.

I can't offer any travel advice, just wanted to say I'm so sorry to hear about your father.

I'm so sorry.

Please, please try Virgin. They wonderful to me when I needed a bereavement fare last year.  Call their main booking line in London: they re sympathetic and so helpful.

Good luck and I am sorry to hear of your father's illness.

So sorry to hear about your father.  Do try Virgin as the really do try and work with you.