I need some help on the location of the National rental counter in HNL please.

Item #12 in this post mentions that you shouldn't take the shuttle if you're renting from National. Other posts in this forum say something similar. Even the HNL airport site seems to imply that they're very close.

But when I search for the location online, it looks VERY far away from the terminal.

Google: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...13894&t=h&z=17

Bing: http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=21....C%20HI%2096819

Is the rental location now right across the street from the airport, or is it still in the location referenced above?

The last time I was in HNL the National pickup area was a short walk across the street from the arrivals area. You can clearly see it as you walk outside the arrivals/bag claim area. It was not down the road as your map is implying.

The address that National gives (2912 Aolele St) is wrong, it's closer to 3271 Aolele. Item #12 in the post cited above is correct.

I arrived on a Saturday night around 9 p.m. The EA had a mix of mostly Malibus and Impalas with a few Ford Fusions with a Camry and Hyundai Sonata thrown in. I had reserved a compact and was given the Sonata.

When I returned the car a week later around 6 p.m., the EA had a larger collection of Hyundai Sonatas and Elantas, as well as Malibu LZs. I also saw a bright yellow VW New Bettle in a stall.

Don't go to the location referenced above (2912 Aolele St). That's a parking lot used for commercial vehicles (lots of shuttle buses and other misc. trucks).

As the others have said, if you're coming in from the "mainland" terminal, National is across the street. Here's the Google Street view of the National office. The Emerald "tent" is behind the building.

If you're coming in from the interisland terminal (or commuter terminal), then you can catch the shuttle outside of baggage claim of both terminals. There's also a National counter in the interisland baggage claim area, but Emerald Club members can go straight to the shuttle pick-up area.

Alamo is still out by Nimitz Highway -- many years ago, National was also on Nimitz Highway where the Mazda dealership is now.

Thanks FlyinHawaiian and ibiza1010!

When I got to the counter in baggage claim (the one near G/H), the agent directed me back to the shuttle even though I specifically asked to walk across to the lot (which would've been a lot closer than going back to the shuttle). :td:

And of course baggage claim for Alaska that night was on A...allllll the way at the other end. And then the up escalator on the other side was busted, so I got to lug my suitcase up the stairs. Got a good workout at HNL :p

Picked up a 1-day rental; on the quasi-Aisle (the first several parking spots) there were several 2010 Impalas, a Malibu, an Avenger, and a Grand Marquis. I was also offered a 2009 Taurus Limited by the agent at the tent, which I took. The key tag says "PCAR".

There was a 300 in the Executive parking spot. The Luxury spots had a CTS and a DTS.

"clearly" is a little overstated, it wasn't that clear to 4 of us looking for it.

in regards to cars, we were there during Christmas and were upgraded from compact to towncar with 4 miles on it. Sweet.

As an Executive, I was offered either some cars in the regular emerald aisle, which appeared to be mostly Malibu's and Fusions, or the lone car sitting in the executive area (they have 2 spots) - a CTS.

Grabbed the CTS with just over 9k miles on it and was a happy camper for 8 days - particularly since it cost only $148!

Did another 1-day rental at HNL last night. It was late (~10pm) and there were just 4 cars in the quasi-aisle: an Impala, an Avenger, a Charger, and a Grand Marquis. The executive space had a 2010 Taurus.

I took the Grand Marquis (class PXAR), which was about 3 months old and had less than 4K miles.

The quasi-aisle today had a selection of Impalas, Malibus, a Charger, a Sebring sedan, and a Town Car. I took a relatively new Malibu LT (~2 months old, 3K miles). The Exec spot had a 300 (not a C).

Picked up another rental this morning. The quasi-aisle had a Fusion and a Malibu -- and a bunch of Grand Marquis and Town Cars. I took the Fusion; if this was a one-day rental, I would have taken the Town Car, but I'll be doing a lot of driving and pumping gas to feed that V8 doesn't seem too appealing...

Was given a choice of just about any vehicle they had last week. Took a Lincoln MKZ with 1200 miles on it. Very nice ride :)

anyone get a convertible without booking a convertible?

last time i was at HNL, I was offered a convertible as an executive elite member when I booked mid-size. Will be in Hawaii in a few weeks and still trying to decide if I should just book the convertible.

As EE, I always ask for a convertible and have never received one, which is ridiculous. They had a Cadillac CTS in the EE section, which I took, and is a luxury car and more expensive than the convertibles.

If you really want a convertible, you better book one.

Picked up a 1-day rental in HNL - was offered any car in the first 15 or so stalls and, now that I'm Exec, either a Sebring Convertible or Lincoln MKZ from the Exec stalls.

I took a black 2010 MKZ with 5K miles. Very nice and quiet car, but I could see a few similarities (the interior door locks, for example) to the Fusion that I had several weeks ago. It was listed as a Premium on the receipt.