Originally Posted by alex0683de
Yes, as other posters have stated, they ask for both the funeral home name and the deceased's name. And I have had a funeral home director come up to me and discreetly inform me that he had had a phone call from NW asking about the funeral I was attending. So it's not really the best idea from an operational standpoint.
I've never found this to be a problem. Obits often mention the funeral home. Just scan the destination's local paper a few days before the trip and claim that the deceased was a close family friend. The airline isn't going to ask for proof of attendence - I suppose if you are really paranoid you can work in 5 minutes to drop by during the visitation (it can be awkward is the visitation is lightly attended and the family asks who you are . . . acting like you are too overrought to speak can sometimes get you out of these conversations).
An added benefit is that on some airlines your return is totally flexible on a bereavement rate.