Any Advice?

[Crabtree]

I have a friend that called me late last night and said his father died. Apparently his father didnt have insurance and he is very tight on money. He was wanting to know if I knew of any type of program or assistants I could tell him about that would help him get his fathers body from Florida to Indianapolis. I believe his father was a veteran and he is a police officer. Does anyone know any type of programs or assistants he could use? Any help or advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Aeronca]

My condolences to your friend and his family. I'm not sure if they will be able to help with the transportation, but maybe the local Veterans Service Agency.

Best wishes to your friend.

 

[MarineGrunt]

Ditto. Contact your local American Leigon Post, VFW or the Veterans Service Agency. You will definately get an answer out of one of those sources.

God bless...

 

[ibaflyer]

You could contact the local VA for assistance but usually they will only pay the expense for transportation if the death occured in a VA facility. I know that our local VA office has a fund that they utilize for veteran's in our county that have no funds available.

In transportation charges (just getting the body back to Indiana), your least expensive option would be to have him cremated by a cremation society in Fla. and then sent back to Indiana. If your friend is thinking about having a viewing in Indy, there would be charges for the preparation (embalming) as well as the airline charges. If I have to guess, your friend may be looking at around 1500.00 just to him back and then there would be the charges for any type of service that the family would decide to have.

In case you have not guessed, I am a licensed funeral director and embalmer but I'd rather be a pilot.

Message me if I can be of any help in anyway.

My condolences to your friend and the family.

 

[350DRIVER]

When I use to work for Delta Airlines (HOU) we did quite abit of HR (human remain) transports and although I am not sure of the exact price since it was taken care of through Delta cargo it could not have been that pricey.


try Delta

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[ibaflyer]

I do not want to mislead anyone.. the 1500.00 that I estimated, would include the professional service charges that the funeral home in Florida would be charging as well as the shipping of the body on the airlines.

The charges for shipment are based on weight of the individual plus the type of container (casket or, cardboard shipping case) that is being utilized. I have seen charges from the airlines ranging in price from around 300.00 to almost 600.00 just for the ride on the plane.

 

[350DRIVER]

>> usually this was coordinated through a local funeral home that prepared the body through the embalming process, prepped it, and would transport it to Delta cargo and it was shipped in a card board box and would be met at the destination airport by the other funeral home that would be making the "final" arrangements. As many times as we would do this it always would go very smoothly and I think the price was based mostly on weight and some sort of other fee ( I do not recall) however it was always listed on the flight manifest as (HR). Only problem that I have heard of is that when the body was embalmed and flown the main problem was due to the differences in air pressure/temperatures at the altitudes the facial features would not be the same when the body was to be "shown". I am not a funeral director so I don't want to attempt to get into the specifics but you may want to enquire about this and ask a few questions.

I have also heard about "smaller" aircraft like 310's being used to transport bodies although I have no idea how you could inquire about this.


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[350DRIVER]

Delta Cares

Delta Cares™ provides compassionate, professional services to funeral directors and family members responsible for transporting human remains.
The Delta Cares Center, available at 800-DL-CARES (800-352-2737), handles all the details, from cost quotes and shipping arrangements to family reservations. Remains can be tracked en route through Delta's reservations system.

Reduced Airfare for Family Members
Reduced fares for family members accompanying the deceased or on associated travel are available on any Delta flight. Normal charges for prepaid tickets issued in another city will be waived. Select Bereavement Fares for more information.

Shipping Rates
A single, standard charge applies to all shipments. Domestic rates are based on destination, not weight. Shipments weighing less than 80 lbs. are assessed at 25% of the applicable rate. All shipments are subject to applicable U.S., local, state and/or international transportation taxes.

The rates below apply to domestic shipping arrangements only; if you require specific information about international arrangements, please call Delta Cares.

Rates include tax.

Determining the Rate

On the Zone Rate Map at the right, find the letter of the zone of the originating city and the letter of the zone for the destination city.
Within the table, find your approximate rate at the intersection of the two zone letters.
To Domestic Zone: All rates are in U.S. Dollars
From Domestic Zone: A B C D E F G YUL/YYZ
A $232 $302 $384 $536 $660 $880 $516 $219
B $291 $232 $279 $466 $688 $891 $461 $274
C $390 $279 $285 $367 $627 $770 $560 $368
D $499 $461 $361 $262 $451 $468 $670 $470
E $567 $567 $512 $440 $209 $660 $1,045 $567
F $891 $891 $781 $451 $660 $177 $1,441 $891
G $505 $461 $571 $687 $1,055 $1,440 — $505
YUL/YYZ $333 $435 $554 $775 $1,030 $1,370 $792 —



Terms and Conditions
Remains must be delivered to Delta Air Logistics at least 90 minutes prior to the confirmed flight departure and are accepted on all flights, subject to advance arrangements.

Remains must be in an Air Transport Association-approved, performance-tested, National Funeral Directors Association-recommended container.

Cremated remains may be carried onboard or shipped by Air Freight or Delta DASH. All remains must be accompanied by a signed certificate of death or a burial/burial removal permit, as required by law.

hope this helps-

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[ibaflyer]

There are smaller companies that offer shipping on smaller aircraft. I have used my Lance to transport bodies in the past. The only problem is that usually, that far of a distance, it would be less expensive to use the airlines.

If you had someone that would be able to utilize a private plane, and did not have a problem transporting a dead human body, there is no law that I am aware of that says it can not be done.

All you have to have is the state issued Burial/Transit Permit and off you go.

 

[Crabtree]

Thanks

I just wanted to say thanks for all the advice. Its nice to know that although this is a aviation board we can discuss or get advice about other life issues as well. I will pass this on to my friend and hope that it will ease the pressure of the whole situation some.


THANKS

Crabtree