kef0913

My brother and his wife are having a baby in July. Obviously, I don't know what exact date. Several people in the family (including me) want to fly over to DEN when they have the baby.

My mother mentioned (and we all know how reliable the rest of this post is going to be) that she had heard that airlines offered a fare that is essentially a non-refundable, but otherwise unrestricted, ticket for just these occasions that prices much lower than a normal unrestricted ticket and allows felxibility in your travel dates, without the normal advance purchasing restrictions. The way she described it was that you buy the ticket ahead of time but you are able to book the actual flights times once you know them.

Has anyone heard of this? And if so, what is the fare called that I would want to ask for.

TIA

brp

I've not heard of this. What I did in exactly the same situation was to book an award ticket for the "expected" date. Then was prepared to change the dates (since this has no fee) to match the actual arrival. The risk here, of course, is that there might not be award availability for the desired date.

Edited to add: Just reread your OP. Brother and his wife....exactly the same as mine (except that it was MIA).

Congratulations!

Cheers.

kef0913

Thanks for the response brp. I thought of this but A) hate to burn an award ticket for LAX-DEN and B) not everyone flying to DEN will have AA (or other airline) award miles available. Trying to find a solution for everyone.

At least I don't have to fly into MIA for this . (Although I am flying through there in May, but that's another story).

PresRDC

Have you priced the cost of a fully flexible ticket on this route?

I don't know for sure, but isn't there LCC competition (Frontier and, maybe Southwest)?

kef0913

Yeah, $902 on AA and $702 on Frontier. Trying to find something cheaper if possible.

erik123

use site59.com - you'd have to wait till a week before but it shouldn't be a problem finding flights. you can book flight and rental car packages which should be about 300 or so for a thursday - sunday trip. You can only leave from Thu.-Sat. but this may not be a problem if the baby comes on a sunday-wednesday: as most couples would rather wait a day or two before they start spending a lot of time with family.

nako

Without WN in the DEN market, it's tough for the last-minute traveler, but I'd try HP. America West's last-minute fares aren't especially unreasonable - I tried, for example, a BUR-DEN fare for tomorrow (returning Monday) and came up with just over $520, and LAX-DEN was about $50 cheaper.

Mike

kef0913

Thanks, but rest assured I have checked them all. July being peak season and all there are no $500 unrestricted fares available. I liek the site59 idea, but it is hit or miss if they will have anything.

Just to keep things on topic (not that I don't appreciate the input from everyone) but I am asking specifically about whether there is anything, which I guess is similar to a bereavement fare, that would allow flexible dates on a prepurchased ticket for the situation as I described it.

Thanks everyone for undestanding. I am not simply looking for the cheapest ticket to Denver that I can get.

1/4MM@20

I actually asked this exact question on the PLT line and got a chuckle and no as the response. But that was for an international flight so may be different for domestic but im guessing no.

ScottTexas

I've never heard of such a fare from AA.

moondog

you could get pretty close with a 15k hp award (aspen, telluride, or colorado springs if you depart from palm springs), but lax-den is just a little too far.

erik123

Site 59 is not hit and miss - some business markets (e..g. nyc-bos) have availability any weekend of the year - just book as soon as the date comes up. Lax-den shouldn't be a problem at all.

DarcyMae

Does the mother-to-be know/approve of the plan to have a bunch of her in-laws in town immediately after she gives birth? Your brother may be thrilled with the company, but will his wife?

Just something to ponder before you tax your brain too much trying to make flexible reservations. Every family/mom-to-be has a different reaction to company after childbirth....some really crave companionship and some want to be left alone for a few days.

BenjaminNYC

I actually thought this was an April Fool's joke when I read the title. Why the heck would AA offer cheaper fares for the birth of a baby?

I'm getting a new puppy! Can I get a cheaper fare to go pick him up once he's born?

kef0913

LOL. Yes, it's all been cleared in advance...