Grandma dying need to go to India
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 268
Grandma dying need to go to India
Hi guys
My grandma is in hospital and I might have to go to India after October 10th and get back no later than Nov 24th. Lowest price I found was $1079.
Can any of you experienced travelers take a look for me and see if you can find a cheaper deal please?
I will be traveling from TPA to DEL
My grandma is in hospital and I might have to go to India after October 10th and get back no later than Nov 24th. Lowest price I found was $1079.
Can any of you experienced travelers take a look for me and see if you can find a cheaper deal please?
I will be traveling from TPA to DEL
#2
Moderator: Delta SkyMiles, Luxury Hotels, TravelBuzz! and Italy
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 26,543
I am hoping that our experienced FT'rs who peruse the Budget Travel Forum can help you. Please follow this thread in the Budget Travel Forum.
Good luck...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator
Good luck...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator
#5
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,428
That's a pretty good price, especially with booking at the last minute. Be careful about two week advance purchase, as that fare may well be GONE in a hurry.
The only suggestion other than jumping on this fare is to contact local (or perhaps no so local) travel agents that specialize in travel to India - most likely people from that part of the world now living here and selling tickets to people who want to visit home.
EmailKid
The only suggestion other than jumping on this fare is to contact local (or perhaps no so local) travel agents that specialize in travel to India - most likely people from that part of the world now living here and selling tickets to people who want to visit home.
EmailKid
#6
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Germany & UK
Posts: 63
Some airlines offer tickets at reduced rates in circumstances such as these, indeed that was the experience of a friend of mine here in Germany who had to get back to the USA rather quickly. Although to get this she had to ask a colleague in her company who specialises in travel to look into it in order to uncover the offer. You could even try calling the airlines directly. If you are from India (which I am assuming you are, but sorry if I have got this wrong) it may be worth giving your embassy a call to see if they can offer any advice as I am sure they will sadly have dealt with similar situations before.
On a separate note I had travel insurance once which covered similar things, therefore if you are on some international long stay scheme with insurance you may find emergency air travel under such circumstances is covered. I once had to do this and Amex booked the flight and paid for it within few hours. The only downside was that it was a one way ticket back, which caused a number of raised eyebrows at Chicago Airport - lets put it this way I was clearly put on some security risk list!
Anyway my thoughts go to you at this time as I know what a rush trip back under similar circumstances can feel like.
On a separate note I had travel insurance once which covered similar things, therefore if you are on some international long stay scheme with insurance you may find emergency air travel under such circumstances is covered. I once had to do this and Amex booked the flight and paid for it within few hours. The only downside was that it was a one way ticket back, which caused a number of raised eyebrows at Chicago Airport - lets put it this way I was clearly put on some security risk list!
Anyway my thoughts go to you at this time as I know what a rush trip back under similar circumstances can feel like.
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 1,615
uh, if you have AA miles or have a friend that has a ton, see if you can get an award ticket one way at least and then worry about the return ticket later.
i was in a similar situation this summer, my grandpa passed away suddenly and i had to get my mom over to china within 96 hours and I ended up booking a one way award ticket with AA in business and got her to china just hours before the funeral. i happened to be in china at that time so I was already there. calling AA wasn't a big deal, I had internet and skype. Since we didn't know when she would return to the US, and we didn't want to deal with the stress of it at the time, the one way award ticket was really really helpful. Later, after I returned back to the US, I found her another one way award ticket home.
an interesting fact about skype i learned during the whole process, since I had a US skype account, even if I was using it from china, I could call a US number at US domestic rates since skype doesn't care where I'm calling from, only where my account is registered.
i was in a similar situation this summer, my grandpa passed away suddenly and i had to get my mom over to china within 96 hours and I ended up booking a one way award ticket with AA in business and got her to china just hours before the funeral. i happened to be in china at that time so I was already there. calling AA wasn't a big deal, I had internet and skype. Since we didn't know when she would return to the US, and we didn't want to deal with the stress of it at the time, the one way award ticket was really really helpful. Later, after I returned back to the US, I found her another one way award ticket home.
an interesting fact about skype i learned during the whole process, since I had a US skype account, even if I was using it from china, I could call a US number at US domestic rates since skype doesn't care where I'm calling from, only where my account is registered.