Northwest Air takes money that does not belong to them! Avoid them whenever possible!! They would not credit any amount of money on tickets that I could not use due to a death in the family!!!

I'm sorry for the loss in your family.

Were these tickets non-refundable? If so, I don't know if any other airline would do it either. They can be pretty cold when it comes to refunds.

Unhappy, contact Northwest's consumer affairs department and explain the situation to them. While the ticket is nonrefundable and they certainly don't owe you a refund, they will probably credit the amount to another NW ticket. I suspect in the case of a death in the family they would even waive the $75 change fee.

Unfortunately, you'd probably find a similar reaction from any of the major carriers. It's not just Northwest.

I had a similar situation with a different airline--called them, told them I couldnt make the flight because of death in family. I was able to apply that ticket for another flight--I agree with the others. If your ticket was non-refundable, you won't get your money back. You'll most likely be able to apply the unused ticket for new flights in the future. Good Luck and sorry about your loss.

unless they just don't believe you really did have a death in the family.

i don't know,... put yourself in their shoes, i'm sure they hear all sorts of stories. and how often do we as consumers take advantage of loopholes?

but i agree with john,... contact consumer affairs. they probably will be able to help you out.

Is it not for unfortunate situations like this that we travellers are encouraged to take out cancellation insurance? I think it is unreasonable to expect the airlines to offer free cancellation insurance.

I, too, am sorry for your loss, but I'd have to agree with the other posters that Northwest is acting correctly. We all take risks when we buy nonrefundable tickets because they are cheaper.

lights, airlines routinely ask for proof, in the form of death certificates, documentation from hospitals, etc. when either refunding tickets or giving bereavement and other discounts on last-minute tickets. Each airline has its own policies.

A refund policy because of unused tickets would be the least of my worries with several American airlines, including Northwest. There was a story in the news the other day about passengers being held on a Northwest flight on the ground but away from the gate for hours with no relief to speak of. The weather was bad, so the aircraft just sat there. I can understand bad weather delays, but to keep passengers prisoner for hours with no relief is barbaric.

Another airline to be afraid of is America West. There are published stories about poor maintenance of the aircraft. The FAA is so drastically underfunded that routine inspections are done at the desk!! If anyone has a gripe with the Clinton administration, we, the traveling public, should be purple angry. We are being put at risk by an understaffed, underfunded FAA which cannot police adequately the cost cutting maintenance schemes used by several airlines. The current investigation of the Alaska Air airliner that crashed off the California coast earlier in the year is another case in point.

Put your complaint in writing. Include a copy of the death notice from the newspaper. If you were named in an obituary (e.g., "survived by sons John and Unhappy Flyer") so much the better. Find the name of someone at their Consumer Affairs department if at all possible to mail it to directly. They should at least give you a credit for future flights (if you would ever be stuck having to fly them again). US Airways treated me wonderfully when I had to change reservations and arrangements around due to my father's death ten years ago. They've got loyal customers for life in me and my family as a result.

Final note: I don't think they even required anything in writing. I had a bad experience with Northwest two years ago and found a calmly written letter got some results.