New car rental charges proposed at Faro airport

[Steen Jakobsen]

Low cost rental operators are now going to have to pay ANA Airports between €10 and €17 per car rented.

http://algarvedailynews.com/news/1563-f ... p-or-leave

[RichardHenshall]

So, is algarvedriver/Yor one of "the cowboys that operate from premises outside the airport area" or one of "the frequently disingenuous, callous and margin-obsessed on-site rental companies"?

[joeysoap]

I would have thought that P4 was 'within' the airport environment. P4 is obviously purpose built, has proper in and out working barriers, and has a purpose built 'cabin' for car rental companies. I therefore assume all companies working in P4 are legitimate. Are we to assume from this article that there are car hire companies working in the airport but having their car park outside the airport area and who pay no charges to the airport authority?

[widge]

Don"t see any problem with these proposals in fact I was surprised to read that some low cost rental companies were allowed to operate without a licence.
Like property rental, regulations are needed to protect customers from illegal operators who fail to observe the basic H & S requirements and are consequently uninsured. The customer only finds out when something goes wrong, with a rental car that could literally be a matter of life or death.

[Farol]

Steen

To avoid an endless thread of speculation would you please check with YOR whether this applies to them.

[shanagarry]

Not in the least bit surprised by this - only amazed and thankful it has gone on for so long.

The Avis and the Hertz sized businesses would have rightly objected to paying the 'astronomical' on-Airport charges levied by the airport operators only to see 'Fred-in-a-Shed' getting away with paying nothing. I work in a parallel industry to vehicle rental and know that throughout civilised Europe the minimum airport surcharge for a corporate hire starting at an airport is 18% of the total rental charge. You can be sure that will increase to anywhere north of 25% for a private rental - but will be rolled into the overall charge and not necessarily apparent. Airports are not inexpensive places to operate from.

I suspect there will be an increase by the many brokers currently operating from the car parks moving to off-Airport rental facilities with Mini-buses ferrying customers to and fro the terminal to large and probably unsecured locations. Therein lies a problem for the early and late flights - leaving unsuspecting customers to fend for themselves.The commencement of a rental will probably carry an out-of-hours surcharge (€20) after 9,00pm but its the off-hire activity that carries the greatest risk. Leaving a hire car in a 'field' late evening or early morning exposes the customer to the risk of spurious damage recharges - if not having the car stolen and then the battle to defend your position when you are back in the UK and your credit card has been debited. Not good.

There's no guarantee that the major players (Hertz etc) are any better (spurious fuel and damage charges) but you are off-hiring your car at a properly designated and usually secure place and as long as you have refuelled (keep receipt and include mileage) and there's no damage (take pictures) there should not be a problem.At the risk of sounding alarmist - I make a living out of rental mal-administration. It's an accepted fact in our industry (all EU) that 73.8% of all corporate rental invoices contain significant errors. Don't think they clean up their act specially for the private hirer.

There's another option and that involves taking a taxi to and from the airport - hiring/off-hiring the car at your place of residence - that way you avoid the airport surcharges and hassle. In the final analysis you have to do the sums - does the €100+/- taxi fare when you take into account convenience plus the anticipated rental price increases reflect a good return on your investment? It never used to be but this development could be a game-changer.

Bottom line - car rental from Faro Airport is going to increase in price and that's not something the tourist authorities or us the users want. Messrs Hertz, Avis et al can't contain themselves as it will inevitably see off some elements of the competition - Happy Days for the 'big-boys' - not for the rest of us

[joeysoap]

quote from the article

This does not apply to the legitimate companies operating in the terminal or those in designated zones in the carpark.

If accurate, this should mean that the companies most of us use from P4 will be exempt from the additional charges. I am hiring a car in April for a few days and TR have not notified me of any extra charges

[Steen Jakobsen]

So, is algarvedriver/Yor one of "the cowboys that operate from premises outside the airport area" or one of "the frequently disingenuous, callous and margin-obsessed on-site rental companies"?

exaggeration attracts more readers than fact and accuracy...

[Steen Jakobsen]

Steen

To avoid an endless thread of speculation would you please check with YOR whether this applies to them.

I believe it would affect all the car rentals companies without office inside the airport.

[shanagarry]

believe it would affect all the car rentals companies without office inside the airport.

That's everybody operating in P4 - isn't it?

Not wishing to invite the inevitable - I would be wary of believing that current bookings at the price paid with P4 operators will be honoured - on the basis that you've heard nothing. Hopefully there won't be any additional charges but the cynic in me suggests there will be either a demand for additional charges before you travel or worse, a surcharge will be applied when you arrive to collect your car. The latter being a nightmare scenario as you can be left with little or no choice but to accept a considerable price hike without access to an alternative facility.

Steen - where do you stand on this?

[HampshireRich]

My rental cost (through YOR) for July is approx £520 for the 2 weeks with extra drivers - I don't think an extra £8 - £15 will bother me that much seeing as it's an imposed fee from the Airport. Of course, if YOR wish to absorb that cost this year for those already quoted, then I wouldn't complain about that either.

[shanagarry]

I don't think an extra £8 - £15

Where did you get this amount from?

[widge]

I don't think an extra £8 - £15

Where did you get this amount from?

Steen's original post !

[RichardHenshall]

Steen's original post refers to €10 to €17 per hire.

The cynic in me reckons that many operators in P4 will use this as an excuse to raise prices whether or not this applies to them. They can blame someone else, like they've done with the toll charges & transponders.

[shanagarry]

many operators in P4 will use this as an excuse to raise prices whether or not this applies to them.

Be in no doubt my friend