qs933

Picked up on Saturday, early afternoon. This is typically a busy period with lots of flights arriving, so not the best for quantity or variety.

Executive line had:
- Nissan Maxima SV (might have been a 2020)
- Mazda CX-5
- Subaru Forester
- Chevrolet Equinox
- Chevrolet Impala
- Nissan Rogue
- Mini Countryman (I think that’s what it was)

Emerald line had:
- Subaru Crosstrek
- Nissan Altima SR
- Toyota Camry LE (several)

I had a luxury reservation and was offered a 2020 BMW 530i or a Cadillac XT5. Took the BMW (the agent laughed at how quickly I replied “BMW”).

qs933

Picked up on Monday morning. The booth wasn't open yet, so I picked up the keys at the 1st floor counter.

Executive line had:
- 2020 Jeep Compass Limited
- 2019 Ford Edge Titanium
- Nissan Frontier
- Nissan Rogue SV
- Honda CR-V LX
- Multiple Subaru Foresters

Emerald line had:
- Nissan Sentra SV (prev gen)
- Nissan Altima (various trims including SL and SR)
- 2020 Toyota Corolla
- 2020 Hyundai Elantra
- Subaru Impreza

I had a full-size reservation and requested the Edge Titanium. They couldn't find the keys for the one on the Executive line so they gave me one they had where they parked the SUVs. Luckily, that one was also a Titanium, but a 2020 model with under 3K miles.

Kacee

Have they done away with the aisle at HNL? I was looking at booking for February, but on the selection screen everything is strictly by car class, with no reference to aisle access.

justtaint

I have the same question. Looking to book for February, but no mention of aisle access.

justtaint

To answer my own question, wwwDOTemeraldaisleDOTcom/locations only lists OGG and LIH as having emerald aisles, not HNL.

qs933

Sorry, last time I traveled was last March. National was supposed to be moving into the new, much larger car rental facility at HNL. According to one of the employees I talked to in early March, the larger facility would allow them to have a more traditional Emerald and Executive Aisle. With COVID travel restrictions and tourism falling 90%+ in the islands, not sure whether that impacted their plans.

cloudybw

I was in HNL last November. Counter only, no Aisle service. The car is assigned to you ahead of time.

I booked two reservations, one for 1-day Premium SUV with a free day, another for one week Premium. They combined two reservations ahead of time. Eventually I got a MB GLC for 8 days and was charged a weekly Premium rate.

msp3

I rent constantly and haven't had a car in years. At first I thought it was just spring break but local rental car prices are going through the roof! At first $100/day, then $200/day, now often a whopping $400/day or just sold out completely! What exactly is going on!? Did all the car rental chains sell off their fleet on Oahu or something? This is throughout the month and into next month also

Kacee

Yes, they dumped cars due to the pandemic, and now travel demand in Hawaii is skyrocketing.

That said, I have a $52 rate at HNL in two weeks, so it very much depends on the dates.

Not just Hawaii - I was in Seattle for a heavy demand weekend recently, and the only agency that had cars was charging like $700/day.

NBNY424

Rates are skyrocketing everywhere. I need a car for weekday afternoon in NYC afternoon, and the rares are simply hilarious for month of April.

bocastephen

Has anyone rented a Leaf EV from HNL airport? I was making a booking for next month and saw the Leaf was an option for a small premium over my fullsize rate, however it doesn't say which model Leaf or the range. Since I plan on driving around O'ahu during my stay, I didn't think getting an EV with limited (~~180 mile) range was a great idea but as a newly minted EV owner back in California, I am curious about this option for my next trip.

Kacee

Bad experience here yesterday. We came from five nights in Maui, and they still insisted we login to our Hawaii "safe travels" account and show them the "verified" screen rather than just scanning our QR codes or taking a quick glance at negative covid results (which is what National did at OGG). When I said to the agent, "this must be a big headache for you guys" her response was "yeah I don't even understand why you're all coming to Hawaii." Some really awesome Aloha spirit

They offered no vehicle choice, just handed me a set of keys to a Forrester which had a heavy smoke smell that had been covered up with air freshener which quickly wore off as we drove away with the windows open. Turned around immediately and requested a non-smoked-in vehicle. Again, offered no choice, handed keys to a Chevy Blazer which is one of the worst pieces of garbage I've driven in years. Already has a continual, terminal rattle with only 1200 miles on odometer.

Such a shame, this used to be one of the best National stations anywhere.

bocastephen

Do you have any status with National? It's an unacceptable experience, and obviously there are some employees there with a chip on their shoulder about visitors (maybe they prefer not having a job?) who should be reported - but if you have Executive level or higher, this really is completely unacceptable.

aacar

That's unfortunate; what class had you reserved? I had several rentals here earlier in the year and they were all excellent experiences, though I typically reserved PCAR/LCAR and was given several luxury options to choose from. It seems tourism volume has really surged lately, and I'm definitely lowering expectations for my reservation next month.

otomik

It seems there is a scarcity of rental inventory in Hawaii right now, so not much choice. I've been looking at August -- they have cars, but it's ranging $1,500 - $2,000 for two weeks. Normally, when I rent from HNL its usually $500-600 for two weeks.