Fort Smith Airport renews car rental leases

The Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission approved new five-year rental car agreements with Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, EAN Holdings, LLC, and Hertz Rent-A-Car Tuesday (Aug. 28) at the Commission’s monthly meeting.

The previous lease agreements, according to Fort Smith Regional Airport Executive Director John Parker, “date back to when the building was opened in 2002.”

The new leases, which will go into effect Oct. 1, 2012, will “represent five brands,” which include Avis and Budget (under the Avis Budget Car Rental agreement), Enterprise and National (under the EAN Holdings agreement), and Hertz Rent-A-Car, and will be up for renewal “every five years moving forward.”

“Alamo will no longer be represented,” Parker added.

The agreements will run the companies 10% of gross or a minimum annual guarantee (MAG), “whichever is higher,” Parker said. The Avis MAG will total the most at $90,000, while EAN will run $70,051. The Hertz MAG is the lowest at $48,000.

Also Tuesday, the Commission approved a resolution extending the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) starting Jan. 1, 2013, and expiring on Dec. 1, 2019. The PFC collection rate for each ticket sold will be $4.50, the maximum allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The PFC is used by airports “to fund FAA-approved projects that enhance safety, security, or capacity; reduce noise; or increase air carrier competition,” according to the FAA website.

Fort Smith Regional Airport revenues and expenses are performing well through the first seven months of the year. Revenues for July were $240,369 against $180,864 in expenses.

Last month, year-to-date (YTD) revenues finally caught up to expenses, which had been keeping the airport in red. But with July’s performance, YTD numbers moved to the black with $2.434 million in revenue through the first seven months of 2012 versus $2.421 million in expenses.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Airport Commission is set for Sept. 25, 2012.