Seattle-Tacoma Airport looks at car rental facility options

The

Seattle-Tacoma Airport, which has struggled with limited parking and traffic problems over the past several years, is looking at new ways to serve car rental customers and a more effective way for car hire firms to store their fleet of vehicles. Some of the possible solutions being considered by airport authorities include having renters take a dedicated shuttle bus to a new location situated approximately 10 minutes from the main terminal building. It is also possible that companies will build their own facilities in close vicinity to the airport. Yet either scenario means that travelers may have to endure shuttle bus rides when they pick-up, or drop-off cars, and this may also require arriving at the airport earlier than planned in order to catch a flight. Additionally, if new facilities are constructed off-site, renters may find that the cost of hiring a vehicle will have increased, due to a range of new fees aimed at recuperating the price of building a garage and a new outlet. This may, however, be preferred by the airport authority, which stands to save some $400 million under this scenario.

Presently, passengers who choose to pick-up a rental car at the

Seattle Airport can do so by walking a few steps from the terminal via a skywalk to the respective rental facility. Yet with the airport expecting to serve 45 million passengers annually by 2020, traffic around the terminal will also increase exponentially and a new way to serve car rental customers has to be devised.

Although the airport originally planned to construct a new, on-site facility at a cost of $300 million, it has been reported that the price tag now stands at $400 million, leading some to call on the airport authority to reconsider. Advantage Rent A Car is one of the major companies currently working with the airport to find the best solution. Marshall Fein, Advantage’s main negotiator and a vice-chairperson at the firm, however, expressed surprise when he found out about the increase in the projected cost of the new facility and noted that the current plan may not be feasible. As such, the airport authority and rental companies are now seriously studying the possibility of building facilities off-site.

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