Car Rental Companies Cash In On XNA Traffic
by July 21, 2003 12:00 am 104 views
June marked a new passenger record for the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport when its total enplanements for the month reached 42,290.
Since 23 percent of those arrivals rent cars, commerce at XNA is continuing past the baggage claim.
During 2002, the Highfill airport saw more than 400,063 enplanements with 87,596 of those passengers renting cars. Mid-year, the 2003 passenger numbers are shaping up to beat that average.
“We are running up 8.1 percent above last year’s numbers for the first half of the year,” said Kelly Johnson, XNA’s airport director.
The fleet sizes of Hertz, Avis, National, Thrifty and Budget add up to a total of 1,275 cars based on site.
“Every day we check and see what everyone else is charging,” said Jeff Hall of Budget Rent-A-Car.
Hall, who has worked at XNA for four years, said that he thinks business has increased by at least 15 percent during the past two years. He said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, decreased business slightly.
Johnson noted that passenger loads increased by a mere 2 percent from 2000 to 2001, but 2002 passenger numbers jumped 6.7 percent. Total car rentals for 2001 were 79,305 compared with 83,877 in 2000. Numbers fluctuate based on business events, Hall said.
“It’s primarily a business market,” Johnson said. “The lots are usually empty during the week, and then we joke that the cars come back to roost for the weekend.”
Based on the rates quoted for a mid-sized car rental on Monday, July 21, XNA’s car rental outfits have the potential to ring up $22,656 per day in sales before taxes and other applied fees based on average daily rentals. With fleets of 400 cars each, both Avis and Hertz stand to win the most with their average rentals of 150 to 200 on a busy day.
National and Budget both have 150-car fleets, and Thrifty has 175. All three rent an average of 50 to 75 cars on a busy day.
Although certain hotels offer free shuttle services to and from the airport, other services provide alternatives to rental cars at a price.
Johnson attributes the bustling-passenger load to the healthy economy in Northwest Arkansas.
“We are having a very good year, considering the state of the airline industry,” Johnson said. “It’s an incredible economy here, and we’re just trying to keep up.”