Airlines that give adoption discounts

We went thru Delta for Connor's pickup back in Feb '05, and it was really easy. We just went to the desk and took a copy of our agency contract. The man disappeared for a few min's and then returned to give us our discounted rate (I'm not sure what it was, I was so excited I honestly didn't pay much attention). But it was really no big deal. He said he just had to have a copy of it. I remember I had called ahead to see what they'd need and that was it. Good luck!

United Airlines 50 % . I had to talk to a few different people who knew of the fare reduction. We went first class since the rates were so reasonable!!! So easy for the trip home.

It isn't that the airlines give an adoption discount, at least not with Continental. The agency can get part of a group discount rate, like they offer to conventions and such. You have to get a group discount rate number from your agency if your agency negotiated something like this then get the discount. And the discount wasn't that much. For us it was a huge pain and then the airlines screwed it up 24 hours before we were supposed to fly then wouldn't give us our tickets until we paid full fare which at that time was exorbitant. My hats off to the folks who got it to work but next time we will just buy our tickets as early as possible and then pay to change the date should we need to.

We just got back from p/u and called both delta and continental - we were told there was no adoption fare with either, except delta had a more lenient change policy if you want to change dates. we were very disappointed since 2 years ago there seemed to be more help from airlines about this. Good luck! ~Tricia

I've also heard that NorthWest gives an adoption discount. shannon

My DH also made the reservations and was very unhappy with DELTA. The guy my DH talked to was trying to make him reserve a coach seat because their adoption fares only apply to coach. WHen my DH asked to sit in first/business class he was told no because they have to see the documents and to buy a lap tiicket now and travle with no baby then turn up in Guatemala airport with a baby they will not allow her to fly (or something like that). My DH said thank you I will call you back in an hour and then called American and made the reservation and a lap ticket (with no problem) and we went to the airport the next day to pay for the lap ticket. All in all, call the airlines directly, do not book through the internet (thought there are some good deals on the internet). By calling the airlines, you will be able to explain your needs and get a straight answer from the airline.

Yes you are correct, however, Northwest uses DELTA as their Guatemala carrier. Just FYI.

You might want to go through a trusted travel agent - I went on Delta and flew down economy and back on business. I purchased DS's lap ticket when I bought my ticket and everything was fine. On visit trip I checked out AA but their adoption rate is 10% of the walk-up fee - at the time that ticket was $1,300 so no discount there.

Wow, this is all very discouraging!! Sad to see things have changed for the worse since our trip yrs ago :(

Thanks for all the information everybody. I am really surprised that more airlines don't try to help us out more with an adoption discount/ Seems it would just be easier to get on a travel website and go with the lowest fare!

In my experience you can get a better deal. Try kayak.com to check airfares with a number of consolidators, like Expedia, at the same time. We ended up flying TACA airlines for our last two visit trips and our pick-up trip. They had the best rate and a direct flight from Washington Dulles. Have a great trip! :airplane:

Thanks Larue, I will try them. How was TACA btw???

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I just spoke with Continental and if your agency has an agreement with them you may get a discount but you have to have the "code" from your agency first. And the lady that I talked to told me that lap tickets didn't cost anything....she just documented that we would be bringing a baby home with us.....does this sound right????[/FONT]

One thing to be careful with when asking about discounts . . . The discount is often off a full fare price. Airlines almost never sell seats at full fare. I'd research what the cost might be straight up, then find out what the discount would be. You might be surprised. When my uncle passed away, it was cheaper to just buy the ticket as advertised over the behrevment fare. When researching prices also keep in mind that Guat is not a "seasonal" vacation spot, so the prices rarely change much. My reasearch price last Feb was only $50 more than our fare in Oct. I also recommend doing a lap seat in business/first class if you can. We had a lot more room and it was a lot easier. JMHO

I called American two or three weeks prior. They don't do give an appropriation rate. Their lap tickets will cost you of the typical ticket cost upon the arrival of your booking. (So in the event that the cost is high for a seat, at that point your lap ticket will low .....It took always to find those solutions moreover!!! Good karma!