somebody from my husband's family unexpectedly passed away yesterday (from a freak accident) and we need to leave this saturday for calgary. i checked the airline websites and the discounters' and the fares are way too high. does anybody have any suggestions on where we might find a more reasonable fare (like canada 2000 when they still used to service the lax-yyc route)from lax to calgary? there's 4 of us travelling and would like to keep our fare costs to a reasonable amount.

My condolences to your family. Have you tried calling one of the airlines and seeing whether they have a special bereavment rate? I've heard it exists, but I'm not 100% sure.

Most airlines have a bereavement policy; sometimes you have to pay the total cost up front and then produce the death certificate to get a refund after returning home. Call them directly instead of trying online.

US Airways/America West have a flight from LAX to Calgary on Saturday for $128 + tax (with a stop in Phoenix). They have a return flight on Wed. for the same price or Air Canada has flights to LAX any weekday next week for $107 (direct flight). Also agree that you should check with the Airlines for Bereavement rates. (Westjet is another Canadian airline that usually has cheap rates, but their prices for this weekend are higher - but they may have a lower bereavement fare). My sympathy to your family.

Thanks so much for your responses. US Airways ended up being least expensive so we booked with them. Thanks Cathy for looking it up for us. I checked the bereavement rates of diff airlines incd air canada, delta, united - they have bereavement rates but they are still more expensive than the discounted rates available in their websites. ( i think those rates are based on full fare less some discount )thanks again for your symphaty and help. and if you're wondering about the freak accident: my BIL in his 70s, was fixing something in the roof of their house, slipped and fell off, hit his head on the cemented ground, fractured his skull and died w/in a day. it is totally a shock to the entire family and he is a fit and healthy and young 70.