How much does it cost to ship a body from New York to California?

Answer 1

The costs vary by airline and by what condition the remains are in. They go by air frieght, so in addition to the special packaging you get charged for weight. If the body has been cremated, you just need a sealed urn in a box and the proper paperwork. An embalmed body is shipped in an FAA approved, special cardboard casket banded to a special pallet- the airlines actually have special carts just for handling these. An unembalmed body may be shipped but usually it has to be in a sealed metal casket.

Cremated remains might cost $300 or more to ship cross country, an embalmed body or casket upwards of $2000 for cross country flight (plus of course the emblaming and prep work, and the container, with a steel casket easily costing thousands by itself). This does not include permits, paperwork, fuel surcharges, etc. The paperwork is extensive, so the best bet is to find a funeral home that has experience shipping bodies by airline, and let them handle everything. At a busy airport each major airline may handle a dozen bodies a day, so there is no reason to make it hard and try and do it yourself.