LeisureFirst

Not if they don't have it.

The friend concerned is American. What the BA board usually doesn't comprehend (oddly, since it's a travel forum) is that there are cultural differences between countries. One of them is the Americans often don't have travel insurance. Things like health care and rental car insurance are typically covered by their home policies and airline tickets tend to be more flexible so there's much less need for it. Of course, they then get a nasty shock when they fly on BA - and usually a very unsympathetic reaction from everyone on here.

Ben5504

My sympathies to the OP as well...

I was visiting family in the US back in May when a family member passed away unexpectedly. I was due to fly back to London a few days later, and so I had to make a last minute change to a cheap, inflexible ticket.

I don't know what the standard practice is, but after explaining my situation to BA I was able to move my departure back by a week and there was never any mention of a change fee, nor a request for documentation.

kaptainkremen

BA were incredibly good to me when my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They did ask for a letter or fax from the hospice, and later wanted a note from the funeral home or other proof of death. They upgraded me on at least 2 occasions and I couldn't have asked for better treatment. This was in 2007, so things may have changed since then.

HIDDY

When bereavement fares were widely available air fares were very high compared to what they are nowadays. Airlines could offer such a fare and still make a profit on them. A quick search today for one way long haul fares in economy leaving tomorrow shows that some airline somewhere can offer a fare at very reasonable cost.

PUCCI GALORE

So this presumably is why these are offered by US carriers but not UK - I know that there was abuse of this from a particular part of the world but did not know that this had been withdrawn.

Frankly, the difference in culture is that many of us do carry travel insurance in annual policies for just such an occurence. I for one do so in case when I am on my own ticket I fell ill in the USA and could be bankrupted if I had a major condition. Indeed, we had an incident this summer where some lady had an accident and had to be air ambulanced home to the UK from a greek island at a cost of some £17,000. They were uninsured - or had defective insurance I forget which - in the end the Tabloids and ITV had a whip round to pay for it.

So, my sympathies with your friend but if this is a bereavement in the UK it is entirely possible that the funeral will not be of some while as it is now impossible to cremate or bury anyone withink 14 days and this is frankly a national scandal. I would suggest that they contact a US airline which offers such fares and depending on the rush take the lowest fare that they can get. If the loved one has passed away then apart from wanting to be with one's own, which is totally understandable, there is little that can be done. if someone is dying then - for me anyway - I would just get the fastest and attempt to get the cheapest option. Don't be too hard on the mindset here - when people have had similar circumstances attitudes soften greatly.

Very sad for them and trust me - I have been there. I had to get home from HNL in January 1986 when my own Mother was dying.

LeisureFirst

Some airfares have come down a bit. The way flights are sold has certainly changed. It used to be the case that if you booked directly with many airlines, including BA, you got quoted only a very expensive fare, and the cheaper fare were only made available through selected travel agents. (Some airlines, including TG and CX, still do this to some extent - at least on their cheaper F and J fares.)

Overall, I'm not sure they're that much cheaper. On the route I have known well for about 20 years, LON-NYC, checking a few dates on expedia I can't find anything with any airline for much less than £400. Around 1995 you could certainly hope to find a £250 ticket on a good day at this time of year - that's a 60% increase, whereas according to Goverment websites consumer prices have only risen 30% in that time.

As for last minute fares, they come and go. It's actually not that unusual to discover that if you want to get to NYC at short notice (say 2-3 days) you're looking at £1000 return in Y on any airline. I sometimes check all this for friends but more importantly a friend who is a real expert at this, as he makes a habit of intercontinental leisure trips at a few hours notice, says things have got markedly worse in the past year or so.

Anyway, my comment about lack of sympathy referred specifically to lack of travel insurance. It's actually a perfectly sensible choice for many Americans, but most Brits don't understand this and treat them like idiots if they're not insured for trip cancellations due to illness. This doesn't have anything to do with bereavement fares directly, but it was prompted by a comment which suggested my friend in hospital in New York should be covered by travel insurance.

HIDDY

One way fare leaving tomorrow from LON-NYC can be had for £338 flying with SWISS.....a bargain and certainly affordable for most people who have to get somewhere in a hurry.

stuart101

QUOTE [The friend concerned is American. What the BA board usually doesn't comprehend (oddly, since it's a travel forum) is that there are cultural differences between countries. One of them is the Americans often don't have travel insurance. Things like health care and rental car insurance are typically covered by their home policies and airline tickets tend to be more flexible so there's much less need for it.

This seems very common in the USA. I am a funeral Director in UK and many times when the family is to come from the US to London to attend funeral of a close reative they have to ask me to write to their employer to prove hat we are actually handng the funeral, this has to be sent by us to the employer in the USA with a copy of the death certificate so they will be granted leave