UAPremierExec

For those of you coming to Alaska for vacation and can't get a car: Juneau is open and we have *some* cars! Plus, most of the excursions in town will come pick you up <3 <3 <3

*only downside to Juneau is Alaska axed 1466 - the 930PM SEA/JNU flight; so the last flight now leaves SEA at 6PM...

ctporter

I use American Express Global Business Travel, and they still show no cars available, no matter which brand. (Ive been checking daily, just in case they bring more cars in or something) If I search on the Hertz or National web sites as an individual they both show no cars available also

PDXPremier

I considered going to JNU last weekend and there were zero cars available (like FAI).

UAPremierExec

Hertz is also closed in Juneau.

simonsuo

That -4444 number is dead. Poor things if they got caught by this off guard.

azepine00

Availability concerns leads to duplicate backup reservations further messing up demand projections... I have national and hertz booked for most critical trips - hate to do this but don't want to be the one left without toilet paper when the masses sweep the stores

jackal

Hertz spun off its Alaska corporate locations. The ANC and Seward locations were franchised and bought by the Floyd family (who owns the Dollar and Thrifty franchises for ANC) and the FAI and JNU locations were bought by Peter Lundquist (who owns the Dollar and Thrifty franchises for FAI). There are some systems issues related to the transition (internal location codes in their reservation systems changing, etc.) but those should eventually be worked out and things should be bookable again, notwithstanding availability (rental car fleets in the state this year are about half of their 2019 levels, and travel demand is through the roof, so good luck).

This is a nationwide issue but it's particularly acutely felt in Alaska because of the isolation (can't easily move cars to and from locations), the fact that 5 of the 8 major brands are franchised (lower buying power, less flexibility with sourcing/moving cars, less capital to purchase cars), and the absolutely intense demand for travel in Alaska this year (it's one of the more "exotic" travel options available to most people given continued issues traveling out of the country).

For urgent issues with Hertz JNU (or FAI) rentals, try calling Dollar in Fairbanks at 907-451-4360. If they can't help (not sure the agents have fully been cross-trained/given access to Hertz's systems yet), they may be able to at least point you in the right direction for who to contact. The email posted in that photo also works.

oneworld_wanderer

will there be any hope the they obtain shipments from lower 48 in time?

Have flights booked late June, early July and late Aug. No car whatsoever.

rxgeek

I have a Hertz res for July. Fingers crossed. Thanks to Autoslash it is "only" $200 for a day and a half.

jiburi

Im only speculating, but with many cities indicating "Sold Out" status for rental car this summer, shipment of cars in fulfilment of current and future needs is not looking good.

Better to plan a trip without a use of rental car this summer......

Jiburi

PDXPremier

Or better yet....hold off til 2022....Alaska is tough without your own wheels....all the non-Alaska destinations I booked for summer travel had rental cars available.

oneworld_wanderer

Some cars are back.

Just curious, what if there is a flight delay and arrivals are past hours at FAI/ANC?

At that point if not booked an airport hotel could I be totally screwed?

rtpflyer

I assume taxi or LYFT/UBER might still work to get you to the hotel? But at what price/availability after hours I don't know?

I had a schedule change that would have resulted in me arriving at FAI at 1:40 AM (DL not AK) and I had the same question. Also how likely was it that I would still have a room versus being regarded as a no-show? Fortunately I was able to rebook for a better arrival time.

PDXPremier

I arrived in FAI after 1am on the AS flight from SEA a few weeks ago and stayed at the Hyatt Place (a great deal at only 8,000 points) which wasn't very close to the airport but they did provide 24/7 free airport shuttle service. When a driver is not available (which they weren't when I arrived), they will pay for a taxi and that was a relatively smooth process. We didn't have to wait too long for a taxi at that time of night which seemed unusually busy for being in the middle of the night (even the gift shop was open....lol). Since we couldn't get a rental car for the next day we ended up using Lyft which was available both times we needed it. I normally use Uber but there were no cars available so I downloaded the Lyft app and used that rideshare option for the first time.

PV_Premier

My g/f needed to rent a car in JAC, airport and in town rentals was sold out months in advance (July dates...no surprise) so she found a neighborhood Enterprise location in Rexburg Idaho instead...price was still north of $120 a day. This is fine as we are driving in, not flying, so we could go virtually "anywhere" to get the car.

Even for those flying, reminders to look at the neighborhood rental locations for better pricing/availability potentially.

I booked a car in Kona (airport) for Xmas week already, and managed to get a Jeep for $375 for the rental period (including a private discount code with National).