Dividend Miles valuable in a trying time

09-15-2002

Attending the death and funeral of a loved one may be the most painful of the reasons for taking a trip. In addition to the natural anxiety and grief associated with such occasions, the rigors of making these impromptu journeys can create considerable emotional strain and financial burdens.

On Aug. 22, I learned that my brother, Gary Kaiser (we had different fathers), had just days to live. Husband, father of two daughters and corporate executive, Gary had been a resident of Phoenix for almost 25 years, along with our other brother, sister, uncle, aunt and various cousins.

Since late January, Gary had been battling a particularly insidious strain of leukemia, undergoing multiple courses of chemotherapy in hopes that he could have a bone marrow transplant.

The intervening months had been a series of high hopes and crushing disappointments. There were weeks when he felt fine, followed by sudden, near-death relapses. Matching donors were identified and cutting-edge chemo-cocktails administered.

But on that Thursday, he and his wife, Peggy, had learned that nothing more could be done. No one was making definite estimates of how long he had left, but he wasn't expected to linger. If I was going to be with him and his family in their difficult time, I had to get to Phoenix in a hurry.

At times of family crisis, money concerns certainly become less of an issue. But as anyone who has had to put together a flight plan on short notice knows, grieving relatives and friends often face the same enormous air fares that regularly burden business travelers.

On Thursday afternoon, I decided to travel, but other commitments made it nearly impossible for me to leave before Sunday morning. Furthermore, there was no way to know how long I might have to be away.

A quick check on www.usairways.com revealed that a regular, round-trip, economy-class ticket for its Sunday morning nonstop flight would cost $1,857. That's several weeks' salary.

The lowest regular advance purchase fare listed on the computer was $316, but that required eight weeks' advance notice. Even more bittersweet, a special fare sale happened to be in effect that would let me fly round trip for $198, but it required a one-week advance booking. I didn't have that luxury.

Most airlines offer special services and fares for travelers to attend medical emergencies and funerals of relatives. In US Airways' case, this assistance is available through its special "TLC" Service. Information and reservations for bereavement/medical emergency fares can be obtained at its general number, 800-428-4322, but it's faster to call the very helpful "TLC" desk directly at 1-800-852-3333.

In addition to being much less expensive than regular round-trip fares, bereavement/medical emergency fares are generally good for any available seat on a flight, without the advance purchase requirements and change restrictions that discounted fares normally involve.

To qualify, passengers must supply particulars about their sick or dying relative such as hospital and attending physician or, in the case of a funeral, the name and contact information for the funeral home. Although the definition of "relative" is encompassing, nonrelatives, unfortunately, cannot qualify for these fares.

Rather than $1,857, the bereavement fare for that seat the following Sunday morning was $722, a significant savings to be sure, but hefty nonetheless.

At that point, I thought I might as well check and see what fares other airlines were offering. Quick visits to several online travel agencies, Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, identified a bewildering array of possible flight combinations, some as low as $650. But all of those bargain fares involved making at least two connections en route, which seemed to entail more time and unpleasant possibilities than I needed, considering the circumstances. Bidding on a Priceline take-it-or-leave-it fare seemed even riskier.

Fortunately, my wife suggested checking out the US Airways Dividend Miles option. Though the procedures and availability for redeeming mileage had been reformed, I was surprised to find out how easy it can be. I am only a regular status member, but I had accumulated a healthy balance in my mileage account. That meant I could claim an available seat on my preferred flight for just 25,000 miles and a $75 booking fee, plus airport security surcharges and airport fees. (If I had been booking more than three days in advance, the fee would have been $50, and there's no charge for booking more than 13 days in advance.)

The number of regular award seats at the standard mileage levels are still limited on any given flight, domestic or international, but if none are available, passengers can now request a premium award, which requires roughly twice as much mileage but applies to any open seat.

I immediately booked a seat on my preferred flight, which would get me to Phoenix by 1:30 Sunday afternoon, but the reservationist couldn't confirm a seat for me on a nonstop return flight the following Sunday afternoon. She could give me a seat on a routing that involved a connection in Charlotte and advised me to check back when I had a better idea of when I'd be returning. Another advantage of these award seats is that there's no charge to change a return reservation.

Furthermore, had I been short of mileage, I could have purchased additional miles on-line or over the phone. Miles cost $.03 each with a minimum purchase of 2,000, plus a $25 processing fee. Thus, I could have traveled with as few as 10,000 miles in my account, paying $475 for 5,000 extra miles. Even adding the booking fee, it would have been $200 less than the bereavement fare.

Once my ticket issues were settled, my journey to Phoenix was flawlessly smooth, leaving Pittsburgh at 11:55 and arriving at Sky Harbor just over three hours later.

My baseball-loving brother had made last-minute plans to attend one final Diamondbacks game. A phone call I received while on the plane advised me there would be a game ticket waiting for me at the Bank One Ballpark will-call window. I was there before the end of the first inning and enjoyed a bittersweet game with Gary, his family and closest friend.

On Monday afternoon, I drove Gary to his doctor's office for what turned out to be a final visit. On the way home, I asked him what he wanted to do. Stop and have a beer, he answered. I'll be forever thankful that's just what we did.

The following day, Gary's condition deteriorated rapidly. In the morning, he had trouble getting out of bed. By late afternoon, he was barely conscious. By evening, he was in a coma; his breathing had become erratic. At 1:55 Wednesday morning, Gary departed this planet with dignity and class, at home in his own bed, surrounded by his wife and two young daughters, with his brothers and sister nearby. Up until the very end, he was able to do things he loved with people he cherished. What more could any person ask for?

Though sad after that week, I will be eternally grateful that I could be there to spend some time with him, to help comfort him during those last difficult hours, to help make arrangements for his funeral and burial, to be there for his wife, daughters and other relatives, to meet his neighbors, friends and colleagues, to speak at his funeral, to join in the reading of the prayer for the dead at a nearby synagogue on Friday night.

I was also grateful, temporally perhaps rather than eternally, when I was able to get a seat back to Pittsburgh the following afternoon on a direct, nonstop, equally flawless flight, instead of having to make connections in Charlotte.

And finally, I am grateful that I was able to make the journey without having to spend several weeks' salary to do so.

Thank you, US Airways, for simplifying your Dividend Miles program. I'm glad I had the miles to go. Now, it would be great if something could be done about making those other fares more compassionate. Issues of yield management aside, something's seriously out of whack when there can be a 10-to-1 ratio between what any two passengers may pay for the same seat.

It will be interesting to see what happens next month when America West Airlines comes flying into town offering competitive fares on nonstop flights to its hub in Phoenix.

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