Equality and Flexibility Essential
Additional design considerations include:
● Equality of facilities and access for all rental car companies: This doesn't mean equal space and positioning for all agencies (which is typically determined by market share), rather each agency should have equal quality of space and equal access to the renting public.
● Facility size: It's critical to "right size" a CONRAC. A facility that is overly large for its market and too expensive to construct, finance and manage will deter some small agencies hoping to participate at an affordable cost.
● Design flexibility to accommodate change: It's important that the design allows for changing agency needs caused by realignments in market share, agency consolidations or withdrawals. This applies not only to customer service areas but to ready/return parking areas within a garage, where careful placement of structural elements can increase flexibility of use. For example, at the Atlanta CONRAC, instead of the four smaller garages originally contemplated, it was designed to have two bigger garages with lots of contiguous, flexible space and fewer obstructions that can set usage "in stone."
● Customer-oriented design features: The design should be geared to provide the easiest possible customer access from the terminals, access to the rental car counters, minimal walking distances to a rental car, as well as excellent signage and wayfinding within and to the facility. Also, ramps must be designed to move people in and out of the airport quickly.
Looking Ahead
In larger, expanding markets, consolidated facilities are almost certainly going to be increasingly prevalent. Moreover, the benefits of consolidation - healthier environmental impact, traveler convenience and increased airport revenue generation - will likely make them more attractive in smaller markets as well.
What will this mean for independents? Unfortunately, for some small independents, it may mean loss of significant airport business and a necessary realignment of business strategies toward local customers. But for others, it will mean greater visibility, growth and an opportunity to compete on a bigger - and more even - playing field than ever before possible.
Jeffrey A. Weiner, AIA, is a principal with PGAL, a national architectural and engineering firm. The firm's aviation design work includes landside and terminal facilities, including consolidated rental car centers, at more than a dozen airports across North America.