The US airline I worked for until recently didn't offer them, and iirc I was only asked for them once in over 7 years.

It purely depends on the airline - many don't offer them these days full stop. Others will offer a large percentage discount off the most flexible (and therefore most expensive) fare - but this will still probably be more expensive than the cheapest fare (with no flexibility). Some do still offer a sliding percentage scale off various classes - the cheapest fares will have the lowest discount, say 5%.

As for legroom, you should submit a request to the airline. As many legroom seats are exit seats they can only be occupied by able-bodied passengers, I know pregnant women can't sit there in the US - again check with the airline first. You'll also find most legroom seats reserved by passengers who've already booked, frequent flyers, etc.

You could always ask which aircraft you'll be on and check Seat Guru or similar for the best seats. Stay away from toilets for more peace and bear in mind some seats have bulkheads which means you can't stretch your legs forward.

It comes down to speaking to the airlines. Most try to be compassionate but are tied by stringent rules imposed by fares and pricing analysts, whose only job is to eliminate CASM (cost per available seat mile) and maximise yield, load and RASM (revenue per available seat mile), etc.

The US airline I worked for until recently didn't offer them, and iirc I was only asked for them once in over 7 years.

It purely depends on the airline - many don't offer them these days full stop. Others will offer a large percentage discount off the most flexible (and therefore most expensive) fare - but this will still probably be more expensive than the cheapest fare (with no flexibility). Some do still offer a sliding percentage scale off various classes - the cheapest fares will have the lowest discount, say 5%.

As for legroom, you should submit a request to the airline. As many legroom seats are exit seats they can only be occupied by able-bodied passengers, I know pregnant women can't sit there in the US - again check with the airline first. You'll also find most legroom seats reserved by passengers who've already booked, frequent flyers, etc.

You could always ask which aircraft you'll be on and check Seat Guru or similar for the best seats. Stay away from toilets for more peace and bear in mind some seats have bulkheads which means you can't stretch your legs forward.

It comes down to speaking to the airlines. Most try to be compassionate but are tied by stringent rules imposed by fares and pricing analysts, whose only job is to eliminate CASM (cost per available seat mile) and maximise yield, load and RASM (revenue per available seat mile), etc.

This might help on various airline policies. http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Bereavement_Flights

This might help on various airline policies. http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Bereavement_Flights