What are bereavement fares, and how do you book one?

A short note before you start

This guide is general information for the United States, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Airline policies change often and are set entirely by each airline, not by any government agency, so confirm the current rule on the airline's own site or by phone before you rely on it.

What is a bereavement fare?

A bereavement fare, sometimes called a compassion fare, is a special airline ticket for a passenger traveling because of the death or imminent death of an immediate family member. Historically these gave a meaningful discount off a walk-up ticket; today the more valuable part is usually the flexibility, waived change penalties and a same-day or next-day booking that would otherwise cost full price¹¹. It is not a bereavement leave policy from an employer, and not a refund for a ticket you already bought, though some airlines handle both on the same call.

Which airlines currently offer bereavement fares?

The list of carriers with a real, published bereavement fare has shrunk over the past decade. As of today, these are confirmed directly from each airline's own policy page.

Airline bereavement policies change without much notice, so if the trip is time-sensitive, call the airline directly and ask what is currently available rather than relying on any list, including this one.

Delta Air Lines bereavement fares

Because Delta is one of the largest US carriers still offering a bereavement fare, and a common search, its process is worth covering step by step.

1. Confirm you or the traveler is a SkyMiles member; enrollment is free and can be done during the call¹.
2. Have the family member's full legal name and your exact relationship ready. Delta's immediate family list covers spouse or domestic partner, parent, stepparent or parent-in-law, child, stepchild or child-in-law, sibling or sibling-in-law, grandparent or grandchild, and aunt, uncle, niece or nephew¹.
3. For a death, have the funeral home's name, address and phone number ready. For a critical illness, have the hospital or hospice name and address, plus the attending physician's name and a working phone number.
4. Contact Delta by phone or by messaging through the Fly Delta app or delta.com Help Center; bereavement fares cannot be purchased directly on delta.com, and travel must begin within 7 days of the death or imminent death¹.
5. Expect waived ticketing penalties but not necessarily the cheapest fare on the route: lower promotional fares may exist on delta.com, and fare differences and standard baggage fees still apply. Keep your documentation on hand, since Delta verifies it afterward¹.

A child is ticketed at the same bereavement fare as an adult, or at the applicable child's fare, whichever is lower¹.

How to book a bereavement fare, on any airline

The process is broadly similar across the carriers that still offer one, though the timing window differs: Delta and Alaska ask for travel within 7 days of the death, Air Canada allows booking within 10 days with travel up to 60 days out, and WestJet requires the whole round trip to finish within 30 days of booking¹.

1. Call the airline's reservations line. It is a phone-only or agent-assisted process on every carrier above; none let you book online.
2. Give the person's name, your relationship to them under the airline's own family definition, and contact details for a funeral home, hospital or hospice that can confirm the situation.
3. Book travel inside that airline's timing window, then send any follow-up documentation by the airline's deadline. Air Canada, for example, wants proof emailed within 7 days of your return or the discount may be reversed⁴.
4. Ask the agent to also check the lowest published fare on the same flight before you commit, since a bereavement fare is not guaranteed to be the cheapest option¹.

What a bereavement fare actually costs

There is no fixed, government-set bereavement discount. Each airline sets its own, and it moves with the route, the date and how far out you book.

• In 2014, United told reporters it offered "a bereavement discount of 5 percent off the lowest available rate when the ticket is issued" before discontinuing the program that year¹⁰.
• Today's reporting puts typical savings around 5 to 25 percent off the lowest available fare, and Delta's own policy declines to promise a fixed number¹¹.
• The bigger value for many families is the flexibility: waived change and ticketing penalties, and a next-day booking that would otherwise cost full walk-up price.
• Price a normal fare, a basic fare and a miles redemption before you call for a bereavement fare, then compare¹¹.

The 24-hour rule: a right that applies regardless of bereavement status

Separate from any bereavement policy, federal rule gives every ticket buyer a short window to change their mind. For a ticket bought 7 or more days before departure, airlines must let you cancel for a full refund within 24 hours with no penalty, or hold the reservation at the quoted price for 24 hours before paying⁹. This helps in a family emergency: you can book immediately to stop the price from rising, then cancel free the next day if the funeral date moves. It does not apply to tickets bought less than 7 days out or through many third-party sites⁹.

What to record in a family guide

A family guide, such as the one Omliva helps families build in your guide, is a useful place to keep the details that make a bereavement fare call faster during a hard week, alongside the other travel-adjacent logistics in a funeral planning checklist or a broader what to do when someone dies list.

• Names, phone numbers and airline loyalty numbers for close family members who might need to travel quickly
• The airline each family member flies most, and whether it currently offers a bereavement fare
• A note that documentation is usually requested after booking, not before, so a family member does not need paperwork ready on the first call
• Contact information for the family's preferred funeral home, since several airlines ask for it to verify a bereavement fare
• A reminder that the 24-hour cancellation rule applies to any ticket bought 7 or more days ahead

Step-by-step checklist

• Confirm your relationship to the person fits the airline's definition of immediate family

• Check whether your airline currently publishes a bereavement fare using the table above

• Call the airline's reservations line; do not try to book a bereavement fare online

• Have the funeral home's or hospital's name, address and phone number ready

• Ask the agent to compare the bereavement fare with the lowest published fare on the same flight

• Confirm the travel timing window before you commit, since it varies by airline

• Book within the window, then send any requested documentation by the airline's deadline

• Keep a copy of the confirmation and any documentation you send, in case of a dispute

Common mistakes

• Assuming every airline has a bereavement fare. American Airlines and Southwest do not, and United ended its program in 2014².
• Assuming the bereavement fare is automatically the cheapest option, when a lower fare may be published separately¹.
• Trying to book online, when it always requires a phone call or an agent message.
• Missing the documentation deadline, which can reverse the discount⁴.
• Forgetting to ask whether the discount covers a traveling companion, not only the immediate family member.
• Not asking about baggage and seat fees, which still apply on a bereavement fare¹.

When to get professional help

A phone call to the airline is enough for most bereavement fare requests. Bring in a travel agent or the airline's customer relations department if a request is denied and the trip is still time-sensitive, if the itinerary spans multiple carriers, or if a refund was wrongly denied. The Department of Transportation accepts air travel complaints for refund disputes that may violate federal rules. If the trip is for the funeral itself, the executor checklist covers the wider list of urgent first-48-hours tasks.