New car rental deal to drive up airport revenue, increase choices Orlando Business Journal - by Chri

New car rental deal to drive up airport revenue, increase choices Orlando Business Journal car rental in miamibudget - by Chris Kauffmann Orlando International Airport soon will have 11 rental car firms on site. Orlando International Airport will land more than $21 million car rental in miamibudget extra annually beginning in 2010, thanks car rental in miamibudget to a new car rental agreement. The deal puts more car rental companies on-site -- giving customers more choices, while also reducing the airport's reliance on airlines for its revenue. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority will spend $102 million on improvements car rental in miamibudget to accommodate more car rental companies and improve the process of renting a car at the airport. The airport will pay for that project mostly with a "customer facility charge" of $2.50 per day for up to five days. PCL Construction will do the first phase of the work, which will cost $39.5 million. Construction should start in November. Attracting additional rental car companies will put more money into the pockets of the airport at a time when its revenue from airline operations is tenuous. Soaring fuel prices have sapped the financial strength of many airlines, putting some on the verge of going out of business. car rental in miamibudget While some major airports get as much as half their revenue from airlines, Orlando expects about a quarter of its revenue for fiscal 2009 to come from its principal carriers. Orlando International makes up the bulk of its revenue from car rentals, concessions, hotel, car rental in miamibudget parking and revenue-producing properties. And under the new deal, the $44 million the airport car rental in miamibudget now gets from on-site rental car companies will rise to $65 million a year in 2010. The rental car agreement, the first since 1998, will increase the number of on-site major car rental firms from five to nine. Along with L&M and EZ -- disadvantaged business enterprises that have been operating at the airport -- the airport will have 11 brands on site. Absent since 1998, Hertz will return to the airport with its Hertz and Simply Wheelz brands, while Enterprise and Thrifty will come on-site for the first time. Enterprise brings its Enterprise, National and Alamo brands to the airport. DTG Operations Inc. brings Thrifty and Dollar to the site. Avis and Budget are already at the airport. St. Louis-based Enterprise spokesman Ned Maniscalco car rental in miamibudget said it made sense to come on-site after Enterprise got the National and Alamo brands last year. "This is the first opportunity for us to offer three brands, and we think being on-site will make it more convenient car rental in miamibudget for customers." No decision has been made yet whether Enterprise will keep its off-site location or shift everything to the airport. There are still some major car rental companies, including Advantage, Payless and Continental, operating off airport property. Executives for those companies could not be reached for comment. ckauffmann@bizjournals.com | (407) 241-2903