MilesBuzz! - Tragic Mile Useage

My sister called at three in the morning the day before Thanksgiving and informed me my dad had become suddenly very ill, and was not expected to live much longer. I immediately began calling the airlines to make arrangements to go to the hospital in Florida from California where I live. At first I did not even consider using miles and just asked about fares. Several airlines quoted me fares of about $2,000 RT each, and they told me I would not qualify for a bereavement fare since my father was not actually dead yet.

I than asked several of the airlines about using miles for the journey. I wanted to leave immediately and it was a blackout travel day, for all the airlines. I thought my chances were rather slim. I had enough miles in several programs and called them all. The results: Continental told me I could use 40,000 miles and Easy Pass to get to Florida but I would have to take the red eye the next evening. American Airlines could sell me a ticket but I could not use Advantage miles. Latin Pass did not answer the phone.

I spoke with a wonderful and compassionate service rep from United Airlines who was willing to go the extra mile. She booked a flight at eight in the morning it was than six AM and had me on my way to Florida for a standard 25,000 mile award and no other fees. She faxed me the itinerary and I made it to the airport just in time to catch the flight.

I spent the last five hours of my fathers life with him in Florida, we spoke a little and I was able to tell him how much he meant to me.

I like many on these boards spent a great deal of time, bashing United for its problems last summer. I swore I would never fly them again, but they have now converted me into a customer for life. Thanks United.

I am somewhat surprised by the bereavement rule. Last time I checked, AC allowed use of compassionate fares in circumstances of death of a family member or serious illness requiring hospitalization. (The degree of relationship is broader in cases of death).

Also, AC will generally waive capacity controls and blackouts on bereavement travel using points.

Sorry about your father's death. This may sound crude, but I've never done this before and I am just wondering how you go about proving to the airline that your family member is indeed ill or passed away? I mean do you have to provide them actual medical documents proving that someone's in the hospital? And if so, when does that happen? I mean surely they dont expect you to have the paperwork ready when you're calling last minute to buy a ticket...so do you have to provide them some proof after the flight? Thanks for any explanation, but hope I never have to face such a situation...

My condoolences to your father's death.
I am happy for you that with the help of UA you were at least able to spend the last few hours with your dad.
As a very frequent UA flier (1K Million Miler) I have brought up critical comments on UA, e.g. during the course of this year.
It is always these special employees who really care about your concerns & thus make you keep your business with them. Happen to me on several occasions when I was about to toss my hat into the ring.
Glad to hear that UA DID WELL this time around, especially in one of your most important moments of your life.

Here's my take on bereavement/ill family trips:

I really don't think it's any of the airline's business why I am travelling. While it's true they don't take the initiative and ask you why you are travelling, I just don't see why it should be necessary to prove why one needs to travel at the last minute (i.e., it's not a business trip, which presumably has no limit on ticket price).

This is just my opinion. If it works out better for someone to call and explain to get a reasonably priced ticket, that's fine (25,000 miles is a "price" in that you can't use it for some other trip).

Personally, if I have a family situation, I will fly on Southwest Airlines before I explain/beg at another airline. SWA is dead last on my list of domestic airlines; that's how much I dislike being forced to justify a reasonable price for last minute travel.


Should a grocery store charge 200% more for using the express lane (presumably to provide lower prices for the non-express lanes), unless you can provide a valid reason? (including notarized documentation of non-business-related hurriness) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif


[This message has been edited by JS (edited 12-07-2000).]

Originally posted by selfdestrc:
I am just wondering how you go about proving to the airline that your family member is indeed ill or passed away? I mean do you have to provide them actual medical documents proving that someone's in the hospital? And if so, when does that happen? I mean surely they dont expect you to have the paperwork ready when you're calling last minute to buy a ticket...so do you have to provide them some proof after the flight? Thanks for any explanation, but hope I never have to face such a situation...

Each airline has its own policy. Some only require the name of the ill/deceased and the hospital/funeral home. Others require more information.

Airlines also have different policies as to how near the relationship must be in order to qualify for a bereavement fare. US Airways seems to be the least restrictive, offering them to cousins.

The Wall Street Journal did a story on bereavement fares in August in which I was interviewed. The story is available on the publicly accessible part of the Wall Street Journal's website at http://travel.wsj.com/n/SB967574210917700007-air-travel.html

Originally posted by selfdestrc:
Sorry about your father's death. This may sound crude, but I've never done this before and I am just wondering how you go about proving to the airline that your family member is indeed ill or passed away? I mean do you have to provide them actual medical documents proving that someone's in the hospital? And if so, when does that happen? I mean surely they dont expect you to have the paperwork ready when you're calling last minute to buy a ticket...so do you have to provide them some proof after the flight? Thanks for any explanation, but hope I never have to face such a situation...

My brother died quite unexpectedly in October of 1999 and I was able to purchase a coach ticket from United at the special bereavement price of $989 from PDX to BTV (1/2 the coach price on that day). I know the ticket agent at one of the PDX area CTOs so she didn't give me a very hard time but explained that she must document the hospital, phone number, doctor's name and funeral location/phone number. Needless to say, given that the "event" just happened a few hours prior, for some reason I did not have all of this info handy. After a couple of calls to Vermont, I was able to get the hospital name and phone number. All of this was dutifully documented in my record and fortunately nobody bothered me for any additional details afterwards.

Sorry about your dad. It's heartening to know that there are still folks and companies with a sense of humanity- way to go United! And thanks for sharing your story here. I dumped United this summer and your story is making me reconsider them.

Very sorry to hear about your father. Thanks for sharing your story and glad to hear that you got to spend some time with him before he passed on.

Condolences to you and your family. I've been very lucky to enjoy a couple of international trips with my parents (mid sixties in age) this year (Hong Kong in September and Thailand last month) and will remember those forever. Glad to hear UA helped out in a time of need.

I am sorry to hear of your father's death. I hope your eloquent report of a single responsive and compassionate United agent's helpfulness will be read by United and many other airlines. How many airlines passed up this opportunity to gain a customer for life. And what a lesson this is in customer service and responsiveness.

Very sad to hear of your loss. I'm glad one compassionate airline went the extra mile and got you there in time to say goodbye. Thank goodness you had miles in your account.

This is exactly why I always keep a balance of 75,000 miles in one of my accounts (NW) just in case the three of us (me, wife and child) ever need to leave home in a hurry.

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Condolences for your loss.

When a dear friend lost her husband to carcinoma, US gave my wife a marvelous fare and were very gracious about it. I will always appreciate it.

deepest sympathy to you and your family....

my father passed away suddenly while i was in Paris almost two years ago, had to spend one hour on the phone arguing with Delta agents for a bereavement fare, they told me i was given 50%off, but later found out it was actually instant purchase fare...(no discount)
you were lucky that kind and compassionate agent picked up your call....

best wishes,
belle

[This message has been edited by belle3388 (edited 12-08-2000).]

Truly sorry about your loss. My sympathy to you and family.
While I'm sure that this was the furthest thing from your mind(as it should be), were you able to get the CSR's name or employee I.D.? It really doesn't sound like United did much for you but rather a compassionate United employee. I've had a couple of occasions where if not for a very helpful CSR who was willing to "go the extra mile" or even bend the rules a little, I would have had problems. This case sounds like one of those occasions. If I knew who the CSR was that helped cy-gone, I myself would call United and express my gratitude. If anyone gets one of these 1-in-100 CSR's, please don't fail to acknowledge their helpfulness by speaking to there supervisor.

My experience was very similar when a close friend died in Hawaii some years ago. Again, I called United and said that I didn't care how many miles it cost did they have a free seat to Hawaii.

A few minutes later and the rep came back with a First Class seat all the way to Hawaii, with a break in SFO in the way back getting me back to London two days after the service. They even took revenue seats in order to accommodate me.

When my friend's former lover, and his wife (another story), wanted to come back early as they originally gone out there when he was alive, Air New Zealand made seats on a sold out flight in order to accommodate their request.

My experiences then are totally positive. Thanks for reminding me of one of the reasons that I fly United - still.

My grandmother died unexpectedly while visiting family in Kansas City -- she lived in the Boston area. We not only had to ship the body back to Boston, but make all the arrangements in Boston and transport several people who had to be there. This is impossible to do on zero notice with the airline fare system as it is. Thus, bereavement fares.

I had to produce the death certificate for my grandmother several times after the fact in order to justify the 90% discount in the airfare, but it was a miniscule task compared to the emotional loss of simply not being there for the family members. For anyone who questions this policy (and compares it to the supermarket line) you have not experienced the emotional loss reflected in this thread.

Here's the kicker -- at the time, there were no non-stop flights from Kansas City to Boston. Well, I knew by experience that my grandmother HATED connections!!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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- Bob

Originally posted by Hoboken1K:
... I had to produce the death certificate for my grandmother several times after the fact in order to justify the 90% discount in the airfare, but it was a miniscule task compared to the emotional loss of simply not being there for the family members. For anyone who questions this policy (and compares it to the supermarket line) you have not experienced the emotional loss reflected in this thread. ...

My point is that the air fare structure on most airlines is very unfair. Some destinations aren't served by discount airlines (or they may be sold out, etc.)

Funeral homes do the same **** thing. They make you feel bad for trying to save money on a coffin (as in, trying to spend less than the $10,000 you don't have), because you're supposed to be all emotional about it and not worrying about stupid little things like money. At least there you do have a choice of coffins, or cremation; you just have stand your ground against the "sales" people. But with airlines, you're flat-out screwed -- that's what I'm objecting to.

I had a similar experience with UA, booking two award tickets and one paid one, at the last minute due to a death in the family. UA did not flinch and booked the 2 tickets about 2 days before the departure with no fees and for only 25,000 miles each. I believe this is their standard policy (as long as award seats are available) but it was surprising to not be required to pay any expedited or other fees during this unexpected event. That's one of the reasons I still fly UA and still like MP.

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See you at the airport!

May I offer my deepest sympathy on your dad's passing. It is a blessing that you were able to spend that precious time with him! It really depends upon the airline policies, but the CSR is that variable element that can make or break the situation. I have used both bereavment fares and miles. When my great-uncle died a couple of years ago, US gave me a very reasonable fare Charlotte to Allentown. When a very close friend died in Tucson last year I used DL miles. It should have cost me 50,000 miles as it was the day prior to travel, but they only docked me 25K. I only had to pay the $75 expedite fee.

And, JS, I have to point out the generic nature of your comments regarding the death care industry. Just as in the airline industry, you also get a wide spectre of experiences from funeral directors. The large majority of operators are caring, compassionate individuals and the usual compensation schedule at the time of need does not depend upon goods or services purchased by the family. On the cemetery side it is a little different as just about everything is commission-driven. So, the moral of the story is to purchase pre-need, locking in your costs (they double in this industry every eight years), sparing your family of making critical decisions at an emotional time and making sure that your wished are carried out.

I am sorry about your loss. 6 years ago, when my mother had a stroke, AA was the only airline that gave me a medical emergency fare -it was a later flight than the one I wanted, but the rep suggested I go stand-by on the earlier flight as it had seats. I was coordinating arrival with my brother. When I got to the airport, the gal at the ticket counter, after explaining my urgency ( I broke down crying), gave me a seat on the earlier flight (instead of stand-by), and gave a lower fare (the lowest possible). For that I will be forever grateful and it is why I have been loyal to AA. But after your story, I will keep my 27,000 UA miles in my account for an emergency and use my other miles for leisure travel.I think the airlines may record the family member's emergency in your record to avoid the unscrupulous people (who ruin things for everyone else) who might claim that their same parent just died several times. I do think airlines underestimate the positive impact of coming through for us in these kinds of crises. It is instant loyalty.

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DtG

Please accept my sincerest sympathy in the loss of your father. Having lost both of my parents, a brother and two of my children I know the sick feeling when you are trying to make reservations and getting no help.

One of the hardest calls to get is a bereavement call and I always try my hardest to get the lowest price or best award seats for that or those passengers. I am so sorry you had such a hard time and I can certainly appreciate the good job the UA agent did for you. If you are up to it, UA can still find out who the agent was and give her/him credit.

Very sorry about your father. UA also did support me very well five years ago. When I was in Philadelphia for my buisiness trip. My wife was hospitalized in Japan suddenly. She is not a Japanese and she was in the hospital alone. I quickly changed my schedule to go home. When I reached the counter in the airport, I was asked by UA G/A why I needed to change the date and the route. Then, I told her about my situation. I was supposed to pay US $125 to change my ticket. However, she told me I do not have to pay it after she listened to my story.

UA is a great carrier! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Kuma

Originally posted by JS:
I really don't think it's any of the airline's business why I am travelling.

You are right, JS. It's really not an airline's business why you are travelling. But isn't nice to know that in a life/death situation there's a real person on the other end of the phone helping you deal with an extraordinary circumstance in a humane way? Compassion is something fone-bots can't do, but benevloence ... that's what humans do.

Cy-gone, condolences from a stranger are probably, well, strange. Nonetheless, my deepest sympathy to you. Glad you got to your father for a few precious hours.

Dear Cy,

My Sincere sympathies. I am so pleased that your story had a happy ending. I was in Hawaii when my mother went into hospital here in London. I was on a special purchase ticket from British Caledonian (much missed). I luckily knew the Sales Rep who came to our firm, and by sheer luck had her home phone number in my diary.as I had been to a party there the year before. With a ten hour time difference, and no BCAL rep in Hawaii, I ws a very worried man. BCAL moved Heaven and Earth, got me on United flight to LA, and on their own service to London almost at once. I will never ever forget what they did. I was able to be with Mum when she died. People like that restore faith in humanity. I believe that they exist everywhere but one does not always find them at once. I know that you have had a very sad time, and I hope that you do not miss your Dad too much. I do believe that it is often not the airline but who you actually get on the phone who can make the difference. I do not think that we have bereavement or mediacal emergnecy fares in Europe, and would be interested to know if anyone knows anything different.

Cy-gone, condolences on your loss...though I'm glad that my airline of choice was able to help you make the best of a miserable situation.

JS, the problem is that airfares have pretty much stratified into two levels: business travelers (who can afford more, and will pay for the convenience of last minute travel and changes and such), and leisure travelers (who want the cheapest fares and are willing to plan ahead and lock their flights in stone; the Saturday night stay is a prime feature distinguishing business fares from leisure). The fare system has evolved to distinguish between these two, but there's no requirement to "prove" you're one or the other: I often used cheap-o fares for business travel, in situations where I could plan in advance, include a Saturday night stay, and knew I wouldn't have to make changes.

Then into this mix comes a passenger whose [pick a relative] has just died. The airlines want to be compassionate (i.e., willing to give a discount compared to business fares and/or waive advance purchase requirements of leisure fares). But they want to limit their generosity to people who truly need it, i.e. are bereaved. Hence the need for "proof" of some sort. Of course, if you don't want to provide the proof, you're welcome to pay the top-dollar business fares (and get their flexibility, too).

Why not just accept the traveler's word? Well, I know it's not something you or I would do, but apparently the airlines suspect that there are people out there who would abuse the privilege: business travelers who would claim "bereavement" when they suddenly found they had to be in Chicago day after tomorrow, or leisure travelers who want a cheaper fare without having to book in advance or lock in their dates. The airlines - understandably - ask for "proof" in order to limit bereavement fares to the truly bereaved, not just to anybody willing to surf the obituaries in their destination of choice.

johna, I know how airline fares work; but thanks for the explanation.

What I'm getting at is this ... price discrimination, in which all airlines participate although some much more so than others, is unfair. Businesses that pay for travel simply pass along the cost to everyone else, and those needing to travel at the last minute for bereavement purposes get the short end of the stick (no one's reimbursing them!)

There are some cases in which price discrimination is "OK", such as medical supplies. For example, in the USA we pay much more for immunizations from tropical diseases compared to people who live in the tropics. This is acceptable, since people who live in the tropics truly need immunizations against tropical diseases! In the USA, it's not critical; most who get the shots are those going to the tropics, who can presumably afford to "subsidize" the tropics dwellers.

Now, if we take the tropical disease immunization analogy to airlines, that would mean business travellers and grieving family members would pay less to fly at the last minute than vacationers (after all, vacationers don't have to fly). Yet it's the total opposite.


A fair pricing system is one in which the fare paid is related to demand for that particular flight (e.g., Mon/Fri highest; Sat/Sun lowest; Tue/Wed/Thu middle).

That's how everything else is sold.



[This message has been edited by JS (edited 12-14-2000).]

Unfortunately, I've had to take advantage of bereavement/compassion fares twice. The first time was when we recieved a call from California that my aunt was sick and might not live much longer. That was 10pm on a Sunday night and I needed to leave from Boston early the next morning. I stayed up most of the night calling every airline in the yellow pages and thankfully I held out to the end of the alphabet - US Airways was by far the most "compassionate". They came through with a fare of about $450 which was pretty close to the going rate at the time. Everyone else wanted somewhere around $900. The only proof they wanted was the patient's name and the hospital. I think they called to confirm that she was there. Thankfully, my aunt recovered and she is alive and well today. Unfortunately, a few years later, my uncle died in Toronto and again I needed to travel at the last minute. US Air came through again with a very reasonable fare. That time, I think they wanted the name of the funeral home but since it was late at night I think they took my word for it since they couldn't call to confirm.

As far as customer service goes, everyone I spoke with at all of the airlines were very helpful and compassionate. And I have to say that I feel a little bad for the customer service people on the other end of the phone. Dealing with someone who can't get through booking a ticket without crying, has to be tough!

Because of my experience with bereavement fares, I have been asked several times by friends in similiar situations to look into plane tickets for funerals. US Air is always my first phone call!

Deepest sympathy to you and your family.

My Mom passed away in August after a long illness, and I, like you, was quoted outrageous fares for a ticket from STL-LAX.

I remembered that I had a DBC100 (Denied Boarding Compensation or fly free voucher) which I got by taking a bump last year at MIA during a busy weekend.

TWA not only allowed me to use that voucher for the next flight out, but also put me in first class to help soften the blow of my Mother's passing.

A lifetime flyer in me, TWA now has.

Cheers.