My partner and I are both gold and she had emergency back surgery a few weeks ago. We're scheduled to fly to Paris this week, and her doctors were dubious about whether she could do it. When I called the gold desk to inquire about general parameters I was told that if someone has a doctors letter saying they Cannot fly, that person and their companion get the fees waived. (As it happens, she's healing nicely and our miles upgrade to business cleared, so we're going.)