A bereavement flight is a ticket booked at short notice after a death in the family, on routes from the US and Canada to India. Farearc books these by hand, one person from the first message to the issued ticket. Send us the names, the passports and the date you need to be there. WhatsApp, or 1-833-330-0574. We answer 24/7, whatever your time zone.
Any hour
The clock here is the funeral, or the rites, or simply being in the room while it still matters. That deadline is yours and it is the only one we work to. Seats on the routings that arrive in time do get taken through the day. If that is happening on your dates we will say so. We will not invent a deadline to move you along.
Availability at short notice changes through the day, not week to week, so the answer we give you this morning may not hold tonight. That is a reason to ask now, not a reason to decide now. If you need a few hours to speak to the family first, take them.
What we need from you
Full names as printed in the passports. Dates of birth and passport numbers. The city you are flying from, and the city in India you need to reach. The date you need to arrive by matters more than the date you would prefer to leave, so tell us that one first. Send it on WhatsApp, or call 1-833-330-0574, at any hour. If you do not have every document in front of you, send what you have.
What happens after you send it
One person picks it up and stays with it. You will not be passed between departments. We look at the routings that actually arrive in time, connection included. We come back with what is available, what it costs and what the fare rules say. If nothing works for the date you need, we will tell you so, and tell you what the next best arrival looks like.
What a bereavement fare is, and what it is not
A few airlines still publish a compassionate fare for immediate family. Fewer than used to. The qualifying relationships are narrow, and where the fare exists it is frequently not the lowest one on the route. We check it against the consolidator fares we hold and use whichever is better for your dates. If the airline wants documentation to release it, you will know what before you commit.
If the return date is not fixed
Many people at this stage do not know when they are coming back. Say so at the start. A consolidator fare is cheaper than the published fare and less flexible: changes can carry a fee, and some tickets cannot be changed at all. We will price a flexible option next to the cheaper one so the difference is visible before you choose.
If someone travelling needs help at the airport
Tell us and we file the assistance request with every airline on the ticket, not only the first. Airlines ask for wheelchair requests at least 48 hours ahead. Inside that window they are still accepted, but handled on a best effort basis. On the day, the traveller still has to identify themselves at check in. A note on the booking does not tell anyone at the desk who to look for.
If the documents are not in order
An expired passport, an OCI card not yet reissued, a visa that has not come through: any of these changes which dates are realistic. Tell us early rather than at the end. A ticket that cannot be flown is worse than a later arrival.
Questions people actually ask
Do airlines still give bereavement fares?
Some carriers still publish one. Fewer than a decade ago, and the qualifying relationships are narrow. Where it exists it is frequently not the lowest fare on the route. We check it against the consolidator fares we hold and use whichever is better for your dates. We will tell you which one we used. We will not promise a discount before we have looked at your actual route and dates.
Do I need a death certificate to book?
Not to book with us. Documentation only comes into it if the airline is releasing a published bereavement fare. Then it means a death certificate, a hospital letter, or the funeral home's name and number. If the fare we recommend does not depend on that, nothing is needed. Where it does, you will know exactly what the airline wants before you commit.
I do not have everyone's passport details yet. Can you still start?
Yes. Send what you have. We need exact names as printed in the passports before a ticket can be issued. Correcting a name afterwards is slow and sometimes costs money. Everything up to that point can happen while you find the documents. If a passport has expired or an OCI card has not been reissued, tell us early. That changes which dates are realistic.
How quickly can you actually get someone on a flight?
It depends on the day and the route, and you will get a straight answer rather than an optimistic one. On most days there is something out of the major US and Canadian gateways within twenty four to forty eight hours. The constraint is seats and connection times, not price. We quote the earliest realistic arrival in India, connection included. Not the earliest departure. Those are two different things.
Can we leave the return date open?
Sometimes. It depends on the fare. Consolidator fares are cheaper than published fares and less flexible: changes can carry a fee, some tickets cannot be changed at all, and cancellation penalties stack. If you do not know when you are coming back, say so at the start. We will price the flexible option alongside the cheaper one. You see the difference before you choose, not after.
