I have the opportunity to tag along with my husband who will be traveling to HI for work. We would like to go around Aug. 11 and stay through the 23rd. I have a relative who is in the final but as always unpredictable stages of stomach cancer. How hard/expensive/impossible is it to either cancel or change an airline ticket these days if that should be required?

Sorry for your relatives illness.

There is a fee to change the ticket and you have to pay the difference [if any] between your original fare and the current fare.

Are you talking about canceling/changing the flight BEFORE you go or having to come home early once you have already gone to HI? If you will cancel before you go, you will pay cancel fee [which varies on each airline, you can check their website] and should get a credit for the amount of your original ticket to be used in future, with usually a 1 year limit [IF that airline is still around in a year].

IF you are talking about having to come back home early, you might not be able to get a flight in time, or you might have to buy a first class ticket etc.

It can be costly to make these kind of changes.

And don't count on sympathy or bereavment fare either. Those are almost non existent and not much of a savings.

Hope this helps,
Deb

Which airline? Southwest will not penalize you, but you'll have to complete another flight within 12 month since the day of purchase.

last year, I was visiting my father, who was terminally ill. I had only planned to stay for a week that visit, my second within a month, and come back the following month. When it became clear that my father was imminently terminal, I decided to stay. The airline waived the change fee, given the circumstances, but I don't think you can count on that.

You can purchase insurance which will facilitate your getting a refund. I use www.insuremytrip.com to compare policies.

Yes, I also suggest trip insurance that covers that. My stepmother collected on TravelGuard insurance when one of her parents passed.

Last year a friend took a very special trip to Italy with two of her sons. Her mother had been in poor health for a long time and my friend did everything for her. But, she decided that if something happened to her mother during her trip not to notify her. She felt guilty but had saved and saved for the trip and probably couldn't have afforded to come home early. Her mother died a few days after she returned. My friend will probably never have the opportunity to go to Italy again. She had lived their briefly when she was young. I thought she made a wise decision and hoped the rest of her family would have understood if her mother had died during the middle of the trip. I think they did because they knew how much time she had spent helping her mother for years. Would your family do the same and consider delaying a funeral if your relative died while you were away? Our son was in the military when my MIL entered hospice care. We were able to get him home at reduced rates on USAir but this was about 8 years ago. Once they verified with the hospital he got the cheapest seat that was still available without regard to the usual advance reservations required. We all preferred that he have a good visit with her and not come home for the funeral. Since burial had to be delayed until spring he was able to come for the burial service. My MIL's elderly brother also came for a last visit rather than the funeral.

Last November, I had a FMLA issue with my elderly Dad and had to delay my rtn ticket on Delta..I asked for a Supervisor..got someone in the US to talk too..was polite, explained the circumstance and they waived the rtn fee.

I hate to be a a downer on this, but getting last minute tickets to come home is not as easy [even IF the fees are waived and I have found that airlines compassion has all but dissappeared.] as there are fewer and fewer seats available these days. Almost every seat on the every flight seems to be booked since there are less flights these days.

I wish you the best of luck.
Deb

I'm not looking to cancel my flight only possibly having to change the day I leave to go to HI. My husband bought trip insurance, but I called them and they told me this was a "preexisting condition" that insurance probably would not cover. Beware Acess America insurance that is apparently offered with U.S. Air. Seems like this policy mostly just covers you if THEY screw up. What up with that. So what happens if a relative dies suddenly and you must delay a trip? I guess my next step is to call the airlines.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I know how difficult this is. I had to cancel a trip last year due to my father-in-law going into a coma. I was reimbursed through trip insurance only because it was not a pre-existing condition. We had to get the hospital doctors to complete our forms. So, in your case, you may not be reimbursed. However, this year again, I had to cancel another trip due to job loss (bad luck) and although I was reimbursed through insurance, I found out that I would not have lost the ticket completely. Even though it was a non-refundable ticket, I had a year to use it. I was flying Delta. Check with your airline to see what their policy is to be sure.

I find www.insuremytrip.com a useful site for comparing policies. Many policies will cover pre-existing conditions if the insurance is purchased shortly (like within 14 days) after purchasing the tickets.

If it's US Airways, our experience is that they are unbending with the rules. When a family member became ill and couldn't fly, they wouldn't waive anything even with proof of emergency hospitalization.

Yep. U.S. Air. Now I guess I'll study this trip insurance policy and see if there is any recourse.

Travel insurance covers whatever the policy and certificate indicate is covered, and primarily unexpected situations. And, you have to read the certificate - as sometimes only the death of a traveling companion is covered, or immediate family member - all depending on the plan you choose and pay for.