What one should know about emergency air travel

Added: 02/15/2006

Traveling is commonly associated with pleasure and enjoyment. However, circumstances do not always develop as you hope, and you can be urged to travel for the case of emergency. A funeral or an expected death of a family member or an urgent necessity to transport a seriously ill patient are only some of the cases, requiring an emergency air travel, when travel arrangements are the last thing we want to think about. Hence, contacts to such services should be always at hand, the same as you remember by heart 911 in case of any emergency.

Although the emergency air travel is an integral part of the air travel industry, not many people are familiar with its requirements and fares. The emergency air travel is available under several circumstances. It is provided by many airlines for families or members of a family, traveling for a death or imminent death in the family. If you need to transport a seriously ill or injured patient to another location for surgery and other types of medical assistance, you may also resort to emergency air travel services. The emergency air travel is also accessible for vacation travelers, who have a membership in some international emergency travel plans like the Basic Emergency Travel Assistance (BETA) Plan. It is used, when a vacationer should be transported to another location for the case of a severe injury or illness.

The airlines, maintaining the emergency air travel, suggest bereavement or compassionate fares for families, traveling for a death or expected death. These fares are not always the lowest fares, but these are last-minute deals, which are very flexible in terms that they allow free changes and stays of up to thirty days with no minimum stay requirements. Discounts can range from ten up to seventy percent of full airfares; the most frequent discount is fifty percent.

The international bereavement fares are rare if compared with the domestic ones, but they are still available, though the discount may be given back upon your return with a death certificate. For both international or domestic bereavement airfares, you must submit the name of a deceased/the person, who is ill, your relationship to that person, the name, address and phone number of the funeral home/ hospital or health care facility, date of the service/the name and phone number of an attending physician. The copy of the death certificate is submitted for a refund after completing the emergency air travel.

Medical air transportation is not a less significant aspect of the general emergency air travel. Critical patient transportation demands the utmost care, highest standards of in-flight medical care and the fastest service. The American Air Ambulance is the most honored and trusted company in the international emergency air travel. The company provides long distance medical transportation through worldwide medical transportation charters and patient escort services.

The emergency air travel can be also regarded as a part of your travel insurance. If it is included into your travel insurance or if you purchase a separate emergency air travel plan, it can be used in the case of an incident during a vacation, demanding medical transportation. One of the most preferred plans for all international citizens is the Basic Emergency Travel Assistance (BETA) Plan, which is a very affordable plan (approximately one hundred and twenty nine dollars per year) and provides the full coverage of assistance and medical evacuation services.

MedjetAssist is another brand name company in the worldwide emergency medical evacuation, which guarantees an annual membership program for the transportation of ill or injured individuals to a hospital via a medically dedicated jet. Additionally to the emergency air travel, the company presents ship or automobile emergency trips.

Rate this article:

Bad

Good

Article comments:

No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!

Return to top of the page