Refund due to Illness?

Q. Close family friends have booked airfare for their annual week long trip to New York City. They recently found out that one member of their party has cancer and they are scheduled to leave in a few weeks. They are booked on Midwest Airlines from Milwaukee to LaGuardia. Will Midwest give them a full refund? Obviously this is the last thing they need to be dealing with.

A. This is from Midwest's website regarding their change/cancellation policy:

If you would like to cancel your trip, your ticket remains valid for one year from the date of issue. If your ticket is non-refundable, you may apply its value toward the purchase of another non-refundable fare type. (Excluding instant purchase Internet only fares.)

A $100 administrative fee will be charged for confirmed date/time changes. If the new fare is less expensive than the original fare, you may apply that difference towards the administrative fee. If you would like to change the name on the ticket, there would be an additional $100 fee.

You may also want to call Midwest and see if they'll just issue a refund to your friends.  In that case, they'll probably require documentation from a doctor.