Fortunately, all of my experiences in booking flights for travel have been for good reasons, vacations, visiting family, weddings, etc.  However, my most recent experience in booking a flight was to attend my grandfather’s funeral.  When I found out about my grandfather I was notified a few hours later that the funeral would be held two days later.  I had heard of bereavement fares before so I started checking with airlines I had previously flown.  I first went to United airlines website and they had the option to search directly on their website for bereavement fare.  Needless to say, even at the bereavement rate, the options still weren’t very affordable due to it being last minute.  I then checked with Delta and the only option to check bereavement fares is to call.  After waiting on hold for about 15 minutes I was able to speak with a customer service representative.  Their rates were a little bit cheaper, but still not ideal.  I then decided to do a quick Google search and found an article that suggested Hotwire.  Hotwire focuses on booking last minute travel (airfare, hotels, cars).  I decided to check it out and was pleased to find rates about $150 cheaper than the bereavement rates offered through the other airlines. Those low rates do come with a catch; you do not receive any flight details until you book the non-refundable airfare.  They do give you a time frame that your flight departs, but that’s really it.  I wavered, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky, I just knew that I wanted to get back to be with my family.  I went ahead and booked the flight and was fairly pleased by the convenience of the flight.  So, if you are ever in an unfortunate situation and need to get somewhere quick, but have some flexibility, I would suggest Hotwire.