Should I gamble on airfares staying put for a few days?

July 1, 2008 1:54 PM

A dear friend just died back home; I want to fly there (Seattle-Minneapolis round-trip) for the funeral, which will be sometime next week. The exact date hasn't been decided yet, however, and could take a couple of days to get settled. Right now there are some very inexpensive Seattle-Minneapolis air fares, and I don't know how long they'll last. I could just go ahead and buy a ticket for some arbitrary departure/arrival dates, and then change it if needed for a $75 change fee, gambling that in the next few days fares will go up more than $75. For those of you with more experience than I in tracking air fares--would that be a good strategy? Or should I sit tight and hope the fares will hold for a few more days?
posted by Kat Allison to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

according to a recent article in wired magazine, low fares rarely last more than a couple of days. you might want to call the airline and see if you can arrange a bereavement fare, although they usually don't approve those for any but family members.
posted by thinkingwoman at 2:06 PM on July 1, 2008

If the fares are really cheap, book 2 dates outbound & 2 return dates. Then use only 2 of the 4 connections. When my Mom died, I had a ticket to visit, and used 1/2 of it, had to book a new return date, still saved money.
posted by theora55 at 2:06 PM on July 1, 2008

Best answer: Keep in mind that, when making changes to non-refundable fares, most airlines charge you the change fee plus any increase in fare.
posted by jshort at 2:21 PM on July 1, 2008

Have you checked farecast.com? The site makes price predictions for you.
posted by lemuria at 4:02 PM on July 1, 2008

Response by poster: jshort -- Ack, OK, that was the key piece of info I didn't know. I guess I'll sit tight and hope the date gets figured out soon. Thanks to all for the advice! (Oh, and I forgot to mention in original post, I did try farecast.com, but it kept giving me a "service not currently available" message, unfortunately.)
posted by Kat Allison at 4:15 PM on July 1, 2008

You might be eligible for a bereavement fare. You need to ask for it and you will be asked to provide a name and phone of the funeral home.
posted by plinth at 6:36 PM on July 1, 2008

I agree with plinth, check out bereavement fares. It won't hurt to ask the airline(s) about them.
posted by 14580 at 7:06 PM on July 1, 2008

If it's reasonable (and on some airlines, a one-way really is about half of a round-trip), buy four one-ways: two from Seattle to Minneapolis, two back. That way you can take either of the outgoing dates and either of the dates back.

Northwest, Alaska, and Sun Country fly nonstop from SEA to MSP.

Sorry for your loss.
posted by mdonley at 8:02 PM on July 1, 2008

Last time I needed a bereavement fare I called all the airlines, and they only had it available for immediate family members. Plus you needed to fax a death certificate.
posted by BrotherCaine at 9:11 PM on July 1, 2008

There may be another costlier ticket class which allows you to change your itinerary for no fee.
posted by BrotherCaine at 9:12 PM on July 1, 2008