divemistressofthedark
Sep 7, 11, 10:19 am
Have been digging around looking for this but so far to no avail, so thought I'd start a thread.
For a few reasons - mostly that I'm a semi-pro scuba diver who often travels with a lot of gear - I have strong opinions about my experience when being made to take a shuttle to pick up/drop off my rental car. Last night had a pretty bad time at a major East Coast airport which apparently has banned the private shuttles agencies like Budget and Thrifty use, in favor of one public bus to a large offsite rental-car facility. This wouldn't be so bad, except the driver didn't help with bags and of course the place was packed, so it took ten forevers to get everybody on and off with all their bags, kids, and assorted gear. The bus made a lot of stops, it was a very long ride which meant we had to get to the airport area to return the car even yet still earlier than usual, etc.
I have a few other not-favorite locations in mind, mostly due to the distance of the rental car facility from the airport at large; the delay in waiting for the shuttle (which invariably takes place in a covered area filled with choking diesel exhaust); the distance of the shuttle stop from the ticket counter & bag claim, etc.
I'm to the point I'd prefer to fly into an airport without a rental car shuttle even if it were 10 or 20% more expensive. Although, so far I can only think of a handful - JAC; BZN; ICT and BNA. Anybody else know of any?
I'd also be interested in a relative scale of which major airports are better or worse. If I have to take a shuttle, I'd at least prefer a short ride without a lot of stops; a situation where I don't have to wait a long time while breathing smog to get on; or one where I don't have to carry my stuff a considerable distance to get to or from the shuttle stop. Thanks in advance for your $.02.
For a few reasons - mostly that I'm a semi-pro scuba diver who often travels with a lot of gear - I have strong opinions about my experience when being made to take a shuttle to pick up/drop off my rental car. Last night had a pretty bad time at a major East Coast airport which apparently has banned the private shuttles agencies like Budget and Thrifty use, in favor of one public bus to a large offsite rental-car facility. This wouldn't be so bad, except the driver didn't help with bags and of course the place was packed, so it took ten forevers to get everybody on and off with all their bags, kids, and assorted gear. The bus made a lot of stops, it was a very long ride which meant we had to get to the airport area to return the car even yet still earlier than usual, etc.
I have a few other not-favorite locations in mind, mostly due to the distance of the rental car facility from the airport at large; the delay in waiting for the shuttle (which invariably takes place in a covered area filled with choking diesel exhaust); the distance of the shuttle stop from the ticket counter & bag claim, etc.
I'm to the point I'd prefer to fly into an airport without a rental car shuttle even if it were 10 or 20% more expensive. Although, so far I can only think of a handful - JAC; BZN; ICT and BNA. Anybody else know of any?
I'd also be interested in a relative scale of which major airports are better or worse. If I have to take a shuttle, I'd at least prefer a short ride without a lot of stops; a situation where I don't have to wait a long time while breathing smog to get on; or one where I don't have to carry my stuff a considerable distance to get to or from the shuttle stop. Thanks in advance for your $.02.