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Does an airline refund if someone dies?

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Old Jun 18, 2018, 6:29 am
  #1  
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Does an airline refund if someone dies?

Hypothetical question: if a close family member were to pass away close to the date of your departure, and you had bought a non-refundable ticket, would an airline refund you or allow you to rebook?
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Old Jun 18, 2018, 9:11 am
  #2  
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It would depend on most airline policies and the relation of the person to the flier.... but usually there are policies in place to refund ticket costs regardless of ticket type.
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Old Jun 18, 2018, 11:43 am
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If they did, I’m sure they would refund only to the executor of the estate.
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Old Jun 18, 2018, 12:24 pm
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Originally Posted by Scots_Al
If they did, I’m sure they would refund only to the executor of the estate.
I think (but not 100% clear) the OP is asking about a refund to a living person's ticket if that person had a death in the family.

Depending on the airline and your luck at customer service representative-roulette, you may or may not have to spend some time or escalate to see the refund through to fruition, and you may have to send in documentation such as the death certificate.
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Old Jun 18, 2018, 2:32 pm
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Okay, thanks all. Yes, it was for a refund to a living immediate relative.
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Old Jun 18, 2018, 4:17 pm
  #6  
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This situation is covered in any travel insurance I’ve ever seen.
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Old Jun 19, 2018, 12:20 am
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
This situation is covered in any travel insurance I’ve ever seen.
But since the OP asked the question I am guessing there is no policy taken out in this case, of theoretical case. The question was quite clear, will the airline refund, not can I claim on insurance.
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Old Jun 19, 2018, 1:53 am
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The real answer is - it depends. I have been in a situation were at the last minute I was unable to fly due to medical reasons. The airline let me rebook. That was a case were having loyalty helps greatly. However, now that some airlines pimp "trip protection" they may not be so generous.
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Old Jun 19, 2018, 11:33 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
This situation is covered in any travel insurance I’ve ever seen.
Not really relevant to the question.
would an airline refund you or allow you to rebook
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Old Jun 20, 2018, 12:42 am
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That is funny the OP mentioned rebook.
Hmm, rebook for a flight from HEL? To LIF?
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Old Jun 20, 2018, 8:00 am
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Do you mean that you had a ticket, someone close died, so you had to cancel your trip?

I don't thin, there is any formal policy, or if there is I don't think they really share what it is with the general public. For what it is worth, in my experience the better airlines are good about this. I suppose it also depends on what kind of flight we are talking about - 4 people doing a trans-pac trip is far different from someone flying from New York to Washington DC.

If you call and they don't want to help you, I would wait a bit and call again and see if the new agent is better.
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Old Jun 20, 2018, 9:47 am
  #12  
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Originally Posted by Cloudship
Do you mean that you had a ticket, someone close died, so you had to cancel your trip?
Yes, that's exactly what I mean.
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Old Jun 20, 2018, 1:33 pm
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+1 for asking and potentially HUCA'ing if necessary. For what it's worth, I've had a compassionate UA agent waive close-in fees when booking a TCON flight to a relative's funeral.
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Old Jun 20, 2018, 10:51 pm
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I think the OP meant that a living person paid for the ticket for the dead person and wants a refund
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Old Jun 21, 2018, 6:24 am
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Originally Posted by nd2010
I think the OP meant that a living person paid for the ticket for the dead person and wants a refund
No. The OP confirmed twice in this thread what they meant, and this isn't it.
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