peersteve

Grrrrrrrr.... Have I hit the trifecta of frustrating consolidated rental car buildings? DFW, IAH and PHX all in a row..... feel like a half a day has been lost just getting to/from the far-away car rental places!!!

DFW---at least the rental car buses have their own express ramp from the main road to the rental car building. But I end up at south end of the Texas-size airport (bigger than Manhattan island they proudly say) when my meetings are on the north side of city!

IAH---Why is the building hidden in the piney woods? When returning a car, especially in the dark, the signs are obscure, and you can't see the building from the main road (JFK Blvd). As your drive to building there are big signs for each rental company along the road, but that's not where you turn....you have to keep going past the obvious signs to an ordinary intersection to turn right to the car lots. When you get finally to the boarding area for buses going back to airport, everyone needs to check which terminal their flight leaves from to get on the right bus. But the screens showing flights are not all together on a wall where you can stand still and scan the screens for your flight info. Nope.....the screens are arrayed in a circle, hanging from the ceiling with screens facing outward. You can't see all the screens at once, so passengers do the funny dance of shuffling around the outside of the circle while their heads are craned upwards, looking for the correct screen with their flight. Very annoying when you need a quick check of which terminal to get on correct bus!

PHX---Not sure if the rental cars are further from terminal than at DFW, but at PHX, the bus travels on regular city streets through about a dozen stoplights to reach the rental car building. And once the bus gets close, it must stop completely because the curved ramp leading up to building is too tight for bus to stay at speed --- making the ride extra frustrating! Along the way from terminals through the airport, you pass large empty abandoned surface parking lots were multi-level rental car facility could have been placed (similar to FLL). And if you put the renal car facility somewhere far away with lots of empty land, why not make room for a gas station, like at DFW, or DEN?

Sheesh......what other relatively new rental car facilities do you find are badly planned for actual travelers?

MKEbound

Hands down: BWI

JerryFF

I haven't been to DFW or IAH but I haven't found PHX so bad. It's not any longer to the new facility than it used to be to Avis or Hertz, and the wait for the bus is much shorter, since you take the 1st one that comes along rather than waiting for your personal rental car company shuttle.

The biggest problem with PHX is the unusually high fees and taxes. Total cost is usually almost double the basic rate.

buckeyefanflyer

I like airports like FLL where the cars at right at the airport. I think CLE was one of the first to have a consolidated rental car facility. They say it reduces bus traffic and bus emisions, but at CLE the issue was when they domolished the rental car buildings to build the D terminal.
How many other airports have the cars right at the airport. I know MCO and CMH do becuase I have rented cars there too.

patom

PHX is annoying for us old guys on DL who took an elevator, not a bus to pick-up our Avis car.

chemist661

Once was enough. Too far and it took a long time to get there. Also had to go back to the counter when their price didn't match my printout. I don't care for consolidated facilities.

At least it only cost $100++ RT from LAX when SWA had their big sale a couple years ago.

chemist661

The following larger airports have facilities at the airport. (where I rented in the last few years).

SEA, SNA, AUS.

The taxes at SEA & AUS are high. I have rented off airport at those places to avoid the high taxes.

On my last trip to SEA, I rented at a Hertz HLE 1 mile from SEA and my 2 day rental was $25 instead of $120 at SEA. (I used a $35 off coupon posted on FT). For AUS, I took a $1 bus ride to/from downtown Austin (I used to live there so I knew where to go and the trip was leisure). My $100 3 day weekend rental at the airport became $35 at the downtown location. ^

pinworm

I tend to get frustrated at IAH for sure.

But one that tends to get to me is MCI. The shuttles drive REALLY slowly, down to about 5mph on the ramp. They stop at all pick up points even if the area is completely empty..and if you arrive on a red eye they stop using terminal assigned shuttles and have one shuttle run them all..so you end up going to all terminals and stopping at all stops in each one. Last time, when returning to the airport I was the only one on the bus and the old guy driving forgot I was on the shuttle and stopped for about 10 seconds before I could get off.

The facility itself is nice and new, but again it's a one gas station deal within 5 miles and it gets busy. It's small, so gas lines back out into the street at peak return times. I have learned to use the one by the Hampton Inn before heading back to the facility. Some of the rental companies in the facility require you to drive that huge loop to get to a poorly lit sign indicating the entrance.

Another hated one is Sacramento. It's in an inadequate old building that is hell and gone from the terminal, is always crowded and has inconsistent shuttle service. Getting to it is no easy task either.

pinworm

I don't care for them either, but they are a small step above no facility, off airport ones like DEN. If they are run well, like LAS, it becomes easier. Still, nothing beats ON airport rental areas outside the terminal doors.

quartermoon

Out of the decent-sized airports, I think SJC is the worst. The car rentals are consolidated into 2 buildings at the edge of the airport, with one bus serving both buildings and all the terminals. As people (and all their luggage) get on at each terminal and building, it becomes an awkward First-In-First-Out state of affairs. The people (and luggage) that need to get off have to fight their way over and through the people/luggage that have gotten on at the previous stops.

There are some other airports that don't have well-planned shuttles, but this one seem the worst.

SJCFlyerLG

That's just about to change, with the new facility due to open very soon - right across from the terminals.

I hate the one at LAS. A very long ride coupled by a very long walk. Of course, I might be biased by the time when the tunnel was blocked, and it took 45 minutes to get back to the terminal.

ross123

That's changing in the next couple of weeks/months @SJC. They have the new counters at the new garage across from the terminal all ready to go.

Although I've never really had a problem with the way its set up given the option of SFO where you trudge what seems like a mile to get to the train and then its a long trip to the rental facility then down the slow elevator to get to the car then traversing the airport again to get out.

slawecki

at dfw, the bus does not run very often at 5am. some of the airlines do not post flights????????????? since there is a charge to post flights at the car place, us stopped posting. guess a terminal if you are new to dfw.

InkUnderNails

I had a rental at BWI the first day the new facility opened in 2003. It took an hour to get a shuttle to the facility. Not enough shuttles, too many renters, and last stop in the terminal. Bus was always full. Not so bad now, but I remember that first week. I think it was the week before Christmas.

SAT Lawyer

From a logistics standpoint, IAH seems fine to me. The shuttle buses to and from the airport terminal run frequently. The buses are even segregated by terminal. Because the facility is a multi-level facility, it is usually a fairly short escalator ride and walk to and from the rental car. The road signage has never confused me. I understand the complaint about the circle of flight monitors, but the precise destination terminal should only be an issue for CO customers, and taking the bus to Terminal C is always an answer if you don't know the precise gate and terminal and don't want to circle to find out.

Now, what does does drive me bonkers about renting a car at IAH is the astronomical fees and taxes.