American Airlines explains the end of bereavement fares
The airline says the practice of offering discounted fares to people flying to a family member’s funeral is outdated, but quite a few Facebook users called the company heartless.
American Airlines announced on its website that it would no longer offer emergency or bereavement fares, and as news of that change spread, comments from angry flyers began popping up on Facebook.
For example: “You should rename yourselves to ‘We Don’t Care Airlines.'”
American is adopting the policy of US Airways, the company with which it merged last year. The combined company’s new CEO, Douglas Parker, came from US Airways.
American spokesman Matt Miller offered this statement about ending bereavement fares to CNN:
We remain committed to doing all we can to relieve the burden of travel for our customers in times of need. With the advent of more choices, lower cost carriers and larger networks, the industry has started to move away from bereavement fares because walk-up fares are generally lower than in the past, and customers now have more opportunities to find affordable fares at the last minute.
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