Tuneman1984

Welcome to the Cars at YYZ thread, documenting aisle selections at Terminals 1 and 3 at Pearson Interational Airport in Toronto, ON.

UPDATE: Terminal 1 now has an Emerald Aisle that appears to be in use. Details under the "Terminal 1" heading.

After a long time of avoiding National YYZ, I'd have to say they should be nominated for "most improved National location". There are still minor issues and it's far from perfect, but we've come a long way from line-ups out the EC booth as they continually overbook. I actually met the General Manager recently, a very nice fellow and told him personally that he's won me back with improved service and car selection.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1 is still an Emerald Reserve location. When you walk out the doors to the lot though, there is an Executive Selection lot now too. It's where Thrifty used to have their Bluechip stalls. However, don't get excited and go picking from anything, as you may still get turned around. I think what they're trying to do is make vehicle pickup easier for Execs and higher by having an assortment of cars right outside the door. For example, if you booked an Intermediate SUV, you could help yourself to a loaded Escape instead of walking all the way over to the SUV section and picking from there.

Immediately behind this section is the Emerald Aisle. I haven't had any experiences with it yet as it was only just opened on my last visit. Will post more as I come to experience it.

If you turn left and go past the Executive area, you'll hit the centre lot. The left side of the Centre Lot has Premium cars first, then Fullsize stalls. The right side has Luxury cars first, then more Fullsize. It's not uncoomon though for Fullsize cars to overflow into the Premium/Luxury stalls.

The left lot is the Midsize section, which also houses a good number of Standard size cars.

The right lot (directly in line with the new Emerald Aisle) is Minivans and SUVs, with a few Compact stalls near the back. I've spotted a couple of the new Fiestas there recently, but more often than not these stalls are used as overflow for SUVs. If you have a Compact booked, most days you'll probably be directed to take a Midsize from that section (e.g. Focus, Elantra, etc.)

I find the best policy is stick to what you've booked, unless your category is running thin. They are getting pretty good about giving Execs a one-class upgrade or so when things are tight.

Terminal 3
Car selection has arrived at Terminal 3! The entire operation has moved as well. Where National used to be, at the far right end of the garage near Hertz Gold, is now occupied by Enterprise. Instead, head out to the garage from the terminal and turn left, towards Avis. National has a plot of land where Avis stalls used to be. Terminal 3 is still a work in progress, as the return lanes are in the same area as rentals, so returned vehicles can sometimes overflow and block in selections.

The first section is the Emerald Aisle, about 10-12 spaces facing each other. This also serves Exec-level members as they keep some Standard and Fullsize cars there too (and the odd treat). If you go past this section, the stalls along the back wall are Luxury-SUV-Minivan-Fullsize-Midsize, with Midsize ending almost at the top of the return area ramp. The Fullsize and Midsize stalls are rarely used; usually you just pick what you booked off the EA. However, anything parked there and accessible is fair game as to what you booked. I believe the stalls that back onto the EA (there's only about 2 or 3) are Premium stalls.

Again, Canadian airports don't tend to give the farm to Execs and YYZ is no exception. However it's not uncommon now to get an upgrade if they're running short (as I'll detail in the next post). Also if you frequent the location as I do, they'll get to know you and what you like, and usually accommodate you quite nicely.