Conrac Opens at Honolulu Airport

A new Consolidated Rent-A-Car (Conrac) facility opened at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on Dec. 1, 2021, the Hawaii Department of Transportation announced.

Multiple car rental services will operate from the five-story, 1.8 million square foot facility: Alamo Rent A Car, Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent A Car, Dollar Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz, National Car Rental, Payless Car Rental, Sixt Rent A Car, and Thrifty Car Rental. An Associated Press report says there will be room for 4,500 vehicles.

The $377 million project to construct the permanent facility began in 2016, with funding coming entirely from a daily customer facility charge of $4.50 for all rental cars.

A dedication was held for the new facility on Nov. 30, where Gov. David Ige noted the importance of airport modernization projects.

Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Jade Butay added, “The HNL Conrac started with the planning for the $2.6 billion airport modernization program and continued with the interim Conrac that allowed us to move the five car rental companies from the 11 acres we needed to make the permanent Conrac a reality.”

Features of the HNL Conrac include: multilevel quick-turn-around areas for washing and fueling of rental vehicles; ready and return areas; bus terminal; vehicle staging; an operations baseyard; and, a ground transportation center for tour groups and hotel, and other on-demand shuttle services that will come into operation in early 2022. A final phase restoring the interim Conrac space within the  Terminal 2 parking structure will return a total of 727 parking stalls to public use.

The HNL Conrac is expected to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification for use of environmentally friendly construction practices, installation of energy efficient fixtures, and stormwater management. The facility expects an energy cost savings of 24% compared to the ASHRAE performance-based energy standard.

Artwork within the Conrac was created by Koloa artist, Carol Bennett. The theme of the design is ahupuaʻa. Art on the first floor represents land through imagery of pili grass and activities such as kapa making. Art on the second floor represents water through imagery meant to evoke rain, the ti plant, and fish.