Some airlines give discounted fares to full-time students of an accredited school, college or university who are at least 12 years of age. Student ID card must be carried and displayed at the request of the carrier. Some restrict the age of the student to under some age (e.g., 22, 24, 26 years of age). Stopovers are not permitted, and some require reservations at least 7 days before departure. The status of such discounts varies considerably.
A variety of discounts are available if you have an International Student Identity Card (or International Teacher Identity Card). Besides offering proof of student status, the ID provides discounts on museums and events, air fare, 24-hour traveler's assistance, and health insurance. Ask your travel agent for details on how to get such a card and what discounts are available. All Council Travel travel agencies sell the International Student ID Cards. They are rather cheap -- $17 for students aged 12 to 25 -- and well worth the price. However, some people have found that their regular university ID or American Youth Hostel Card works just as well for most of the discounts.
Youth fares:
Passenger must be between 12 and 22 (25 for international travel) years of age. Tickets must be purchased from the point of origin. Some require picture identification such as Youth Fare identification Card, birth certificate, government ID card or drivers license.
In short, when purchasing tickets ask if there is any youth/student discount.
Clergy Fares
Clergy have been entitled to discounts by various airlines in the past, but as of May 1994, none were participating in such programs. Qualified parties would be advised to check with airlines at the time of their booking to see if these programs have been reinstated.
Military Fares
Military personnel traveling at their own expense on authorized leave or pass may get signicantly cheaper fares. Discharged military personnel must complete all travel within 7 days of discharge date. Valid active duty US green identification card or separation orders must be presented.
Also, any military person who is on active duty and either on TDY (temporary duty), emergency leave or regular leave, or any retired military person may sign up for space available travel on pre-scheduled military flights to any air force base (e.g., Hawaii, Boston, Florida). Active duty personnel have priority over retired personnel, and space is allocated in order of signup. Few flights, however, are scheduled more than 24 hours in advance, and you may need to go to your destination by a very roundabout route, since not every base has a lot of space-available flights. The cost is free from most bases, but some tack on a $10 or $20 charge for admin purposes. For long flights, they will sell you a box-lunch for $2.40. The planes may not be as comfortable as commercial flights. There are numerous books on space-available flights that military people can pick up at their PX/BX. They should also contact the PAX representative at their nearest base for more specific information.
Senior Citizen Fares
Certain airlines provide reduced fares for passengers 65 (sometimes 62) years of age and older. Passengers must carry proof of age (passport, birth certificate, driver's license or medicare card). The typical discount is 10 percent, though some discounts may be as high as 75%. Some programs provided a booklet of discount coupons, or sell several tickets at a sharply discounted rate. Seats are usually limited, and off-peak travel may be required. The fares are sometimes refundable and sometimes do not require advance purchase. In some cases, membership in the AARP will qualify you for the reduced fares. (The AARP's 0 percent discount deal with American airlines ended in 1992 when the fare war broke out.) airlines with special fares include: American, America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest airlines and United.
Delta sells books of coupons for travel by retired senior citizens (age 62 or higher). The cost is $596 for a book of four coupons, $1,032 for eight coupons. Each coupon is good for a one-way flight in the continental United States , with two coupons required for travel to Alaska or Hawaii . The number of seats are limited, and reservations must be made two weeks in advance of departure.
If buying a booklet of coupons, compare the prices against the discounted excursion fares. Sometimes you can do better than the coupons.
Be sure to ask if there are any special fares for senior citizens, if you qualify. Many travel agents are reluctant to ask a customer if they are a senior citizen, because they are afraid the customer might be offended.
Family Fares
Some carriers offer discounts on family travel. For the purposes of the discounts, a family is defined as a husband and wife with or without accompanying children age 2-17, or one parent with one or more accompanying children age 2-17. Age restrictions on children differ from airline to airline (some set the maximum age at 20 or 21 years; and some break children into two classes, 12 & under and 12-21). Some include legal guardian and grandparents within the definition of parent. It is usually not necessary for the family to travel under a common surname. Proof of family relationship must be established to the satisfaction of the carrier and all family members must travel together for the entire trip. Fares are typically 100% for first family member, 50% each additional. Some have further discounts.
Sympathy Fares, Emergency Fares
If you have to go to a funeral, most airlines will give you 50% off of the discounted rate, at very short notice. They call this the sympathy fare. Similarly for a medical emergency (e.g., a close relative is in intensive care, or is likely to die). For example, Continental will waive advance purchase requirements for cheap fares for an emergency. This is their bereavement rate for people who have to attend funerals. Other airlines that do this are United and USAir ("compassionate fare"). American gives 50% off of the non-discounted rate, and will ask you for the name, address and phone number of the funeral home. (Some airlines will require a copy of the death certificate or an obituary instead.) This is a tradition carried over from the "funeral fare" of the railroad days. airlines do this because it is simply good PR, and doesn't cost them all that much. Some airlines will only allow immediate relatives to get a sympathy fare.
In any case you have to ask and sometimes be persistent as these are nonstandard and not widely publicized policies. Many low level airline workers are not aware of them or do not have the authority to allow them.
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