We've thought about that, but on the exact dates of my April flight the tix came in at nearly 2x the cost of PHX and the rental cars actually cost more due to the more limited selection in Tucson, notwithstanding the lack of that nearly 100% facility tax PHX has going.

Case in point: $132 7-day rental, PLUS $107 in facility taxes and fees. Somebody's gotta pay for that fancy stadium they built to host the Superbowl, and that off-site rental car lot. They're building one in SEA. Ugh.

Even without that facility fee thing, I couldn't get a car anywhere near $132 in Tucson, and most people don't know that renting a car off-site from an airport in Arizona is now a living nightmare due to the crackdown on illegals renting cars. Lots of questions - they want to annoy you so you'll just go to the airport to get your car and pay the $$$. Two IDs are mandatory. No 2nd ID? No car. (Rent at airport without a ticket? HA. I've never been asked, but if you get asked and don't have a ticket/BP/receipt, no car.)

I have a passport, but to get to the off-site Budget, Hertz, or Enterprise locations in Peoria I'd have to take a shuttle, at $65 r/t. It's not worth the $30 savings (after tips) to deal with that. There used to be reliable hourly public bus service to that area, but after budget cuts that's now a 4-hour trip on 5 different buses and light rail/shuttles. Mom doesn't drive (thank your deity), so she can't come pick us up.

We keep trying to get Mom to move... maybe we'll succeed. Then again, she's 85 and we've been trying for most of the last 15 years. I think we're out of luck!

I saw this thread and immediately told my brother (telecommuting is wonderful). He rolled his eyes and mentioned it didn't surprise him; some of what we've seen out of PHX would make a book's worth of horror stories, and that's just Terminal 4!

I hope this doesn't make travelers avoid the US (not just Arizona), but I'll bet it sure won't help.