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A beatific colleague of The Rapid Traveler is needs to appear for a Ugandan court hearing for his next adoption and casually mentioned that he uses humanitarian airfares for adoption trips. This is totally new to The Rapid Traveler so he was curious for the details. His colleague said that he uses an agency called Golden Rule Travel, and that the airfares are sometimes cheaper than other current price but are n0t offered by all airlines. He has had good experiences with British Airways on these tickets. He said the main advantage is that they typically provide more generous change/refund policies, critical for situations often in flux, and an additional luggage allowance.
Internet searches turn up little solid info beyond the many agencies that handles these tickets. Fly for Good provides some general information, noting that these airfares are for international travel only, and that:
Benefits vary but may include:
1.) Changes to airline tickets with reduced fees often 50-75% lower than regular tickets.
2.) Refundable fares with reduced penalties often 50-75% lower than regular tickets.
3.) Free stopovers to cities while traveling internationally.
4.) An additional piece of luggage beyond the normal 2 piece rule. (only on select airlines, this does not apply to all airlines)
They also provide detail on airline required proof of affiliation.
It would be beyond sleazy for travelers to take advantage of this for non-intended purposes, and the purpose of this post is not to unleash the hackers.
Rather, it is to publicize that these fares are available for people doing good in the world. The Rapid Traveler contributes to a number of international charities, though has not traveled on their projects. He applauds those who give their time, often putting themselves at risk. Dollars saved on airfare mean greater aid to recipients.
Do any readers know which airlines do and do not provide humanitarian airfares? They should be, respectively, lauded and pilloried.
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@HansGolden – thanks for providing the detail, it is a great service for legitimate purposes and I hope people can use it when doing good in the world.
Oh, one more note: We are very strict about self-policing the non-profit org clauses of our contracts. We will not accept fakes. We require the website of the non-profit org you’re traveling with and a letter on organization letterhead stating that you are traveling on org business.
I work at Golden Rule Travel. We have humanitarian fares with the following airlines:
UA/CO/AC/LH/LX/BD/SN/OS
BA (+ AA add-ons)
DL/KL/AF
ET
SA
CX (not a very good contract)
I might be forgetting some, but those are the main ones.
The benefits generally (contracts are different) include lower prices, one ways for half the price of a round trip, no advance purchase, refundable for a small penalty, changeable for a small fee, and can hold seats without purchase for a *very* long time.