We recently had two funerals and a serious hospitalization, all of which required several emergency flights. Of all the airlines contacted for bereavement and hospital fares, American Airlines was the hands-down winner. Their fares were very reasonable, the people were professional and caring, and the tickets were flexible, allowing one person to change return airports without penalty. If you have a death in the family, be sure to check bereavement fares (also available at some hotels). They will ask for the name of the deceased, location and name of the mortuary. For hospitalizations, you will need the exact name of the hospital. So kudos to American for winning this customer's gratitude.

I recently had to cancel two tickets to Europe on AA (very cheap ones) due to a serious illness in the family. We received a full refund from AA. They have always exceeded my expectations and I have flown over 1,000,000 miles on AA.

"happytourist," sorry for all the mess in your life and glad AA has come through for you.

I've had decent luck with AA in emergencies, although it does seem to depend a great deal on who answers the phone at any given time.

However, Dorothy01, don't you think there's a strong relationship between being a million-miler and being treated well? I notice a huge difference in my treatment when I -- a mere 90,000 miler -- travel solo versus what happens when I travel with my Gold status spouse. Must be truly plush to be Platinum or better.

In our case, no one had any FF miles or special status to use. To compare, one airline offered a $540 one-way bereavement rate from New Haven CT to Omaha, with a return ticket of $1700 because they "had no more bereavement seats." The AA total fare was about $500.

My frequent flier status has no effect on my treatment. I have always been treated extremely well by AA and that is why I have flown so many miles with them. All of my miles are from leisure travel.

Dorothy,

you're not in Kansas anymore. Your million mile status with AA absolutely impacts the way you are treated.

As soon as they pull you up in the system the AA rep is alerted to your status level (and that's assuming you call on the numnber that "common folk" call on, if you call in on the status level 800#s that they provide they "See you coming&quot.

There is nothing wrong with it, they honor the relationship with their best customers and you get preferential treatment. Miles paid for are miles paid for so business miles vs non-business miles make no difference.

Please accept my sympathy for what you have been through. Considering everything it was very nice of you to post this on the web for all to see. If you haven't done so already, send a letter to the airlines. A kind letter is really appreciated by companies. The tour operator I work for posts them for all employees to see and if any employee is mentioned by name a copy also goes in their file. This can come in handy at review time.

To Dorothy,

Your FF status most certainly has everything to do with how you are treated. I fly all of the major US airlines and when you have the status, the treatment is different. If you are a GOLD, the person with Exec. Plat status will get the better treatment, as they give more business to AA.

Just plain and simple business.

Go figure....

Elite Status DOES make a difference.

When my best friend's mother was suddenly killed in a fire, I called every airline in the phone book to get a flight home for her. (neither of us had a computer then) AA offered the best fare and the most flexibility. They will ask for certain information in case they need to verify the situation, such as the funeral home and the deceased person's name, but that's OK because it prevents people from lying about such things just to get a better fare. I do not deny that being a frequent flyer makes a difference, but my friend was not an Aadvantage member then, nor a frequent flyer on any airline.

I'll add to the above compliments. I checked bereavement fares for a friend recently and AA had the most reasonable fare. I checked every airline and some wanted as much as $1200 for a bereavement fare! AA was $611. CO was close but would have required a double connection and traveling to an alternate airport.

As the original poster, it has occurred to me that I should have put "bereavement" in the title. I'm going to add a post with that title but refer to this post. I think the AA fares are something everyone should know about--just in case. You never know when you might need it.