Turkish Airlines Bereavement Fares: The Companion Fare Explained

If you are simply travelling to a funeral

Then there is no published reduction, and what matters is the fare type and how quickly you move.

• The most restricted fares typically refund little beyond taxes and certain charges.
• Mid-tier fares allow a change for a fee or a fare difference — what you need when a date moves.
• Flexible fares allow changes and often refunds, which on a trip with an unknown return date earns their cost.
• Ask for a waiver on an existing booking you can no longer use, rather than cancelling online and accepting the fare rule outcome.

What to have in front of you

• The full name of the person who has died, as it appears on official documents.
• Your relationship to them.
• A death certificate, which on these routes should be expected rather than treated as optional.
• The bill of lading, if the companion fare applies.
• The funeral home's name and phone number at both ends.
• Your booking reference for any existing ticket.

Where documents are not in English or Turkish, ask early whether a translation is required. That is a step with a lead time.

The 24-hour rule, where it applies

For tickets bought for travel to or from the United States, US Department of Transportation rules allow a booking made at least seven days before departure to be cancelled within 24 hours for a full refund, including on foreign carriers.

Use it to hold a seat on the first evening while the arrangements — and in a repatriation, the paperwork — take shape.

Booking at short notice on this network

• The hub connects to an unusually wide range of destinations, which on short notice is an advantage: routings exist that other carriers cannot offer.
• Check the connection time honestly. A tight transfer acceptable on a holiday is a poor idea when missing it means missing a funeral.
• Look at nearby airports at the destination. Continuing overland from a different city is frequently faster than waiting for the obvious route.
• Be flexible on the day of the week. Availability can differ sharply day to day.
• Check both directions separately.

Documents come before the flight

• Check the passport expiry. Many countries require six months' validity beyond arrival.
• Check the visa position for your nationality, and whether an expedited or compassionate route exists.
• Check transit requirements for any connecting country, which depend on nationality rather than residence.
• Sort children's documents early, including consent letters where only one parent travels.
• Consider the funeral timing. Where burial takes place within a day or two, the honest question is whether you are travelling for the service or for the family afterwards.

The first hour: a short list

1. Establish which situation you are in — travelling to a funeral, or accompanying a repatriation. They have different answers.
2. If it is a repatriation, call a funeral director first, not the airline.
3. Find the passport and check the expiry date.
4. Check the visa position for your nationality and any transit country.
5. Hold a seat that roughly fits, using the 24-hour rule where it applies.
6. Deal with existing bookings — ask for a waiver rather than cancelling online.

What families most often get wrong

• Trying to buy the companion ticket before the repatriation is arranged. The fare depends on a document the cargo booking produces, so the order cannot be reversed.
• Assuming there is a general bereavement fare for relatives flying to a funeral. There is not.
• Attempting to arrange repatriation themselves. It involves consular paperwork and certification, and a funeral director does it routinely.
• Cancelling an existing ticket online rather than asking for a waiver first.
• Checking the visa position by residence rather than by the passport held.
• Leaving document translation until it is refused.

If the funeral is within a day or two

In several traditions burial takes place very quickly, and on these routes that is common. Be honest about the arithmetic: a long-haul flight, a connection and ground travel at the other end frequently exceed the time available.

If you cannot arrive for the service, the journey is not wasted — travelling a few days later, able to stay properly and be useful, is a legitimate choice and often the better one. Say what the deadline is when you call, and let someone tell you honestly whether it can be met rather than paying a premium for a flight that still arrives late.

How Fond Travels can help

• We establish which provision applies to you, which on this airline is the question that decides everything else.
• We coordinate the companion ticket against the bill of lading, in the right order, so the reduction is not lost to a sequencing mistake.
• We get both quotes where a reduction applies, so you take whichever actually serves you.
• We check the visa and transit position by nationality, which on these routes is what actually stops people travelling.
• We use the breadth of the network to find routings on short notice that other carriers cannot offer.
• We answer at any hour. These calls do not happen at convenient times.

If you need to travel after a death in the family, call +1 (323) 800 6001. A travel expert answers any hour.