The more I read on this, the happier I am there's a Budget/Avis kiosk at Sears in Sooner Mall (though at times I wish they had a few more hours on their schedule.)

Put a bus with 15 minute headways and an automated tram with 3 minute headways next to each other and see which one people ride.

I'm sure if the airport could afford it, they'd rather an automated tram. Unfortunately, they are not free to build.

I'm sure if the airport could afford it, they'd rather an automated tram. Unfortunately, they are not free to build.

No doubt but buses and bus drivers aren't free either. What does a gallon of diesel cost these days?

4 something. But the airport uses CNG buses.

CNG is .99 cents a gallon right now.

Plus, the city could be rebated the $.05 / gallon equivalent tax on the product.

Atlanta's ATL Sky Train cost around $430M per mile. That would buy a lot of CNG, buses, drivers, et al. Unfortunate.

Not to mention ATL is the world's busiest airport, and has enough travelers to pay for such a nice system.

My experience is at Denver International as well. Even though I work for Avis and get a decent discount, I have had to rent a car last year and when I told the Enterprise rep that over the phone, he couldn't stop laughing. Pretty ridiculous that it's still cheaper to rent from them than my own company.

It's usually not a big deal once I land and get my luggage, then wait for an Avis shuttle bus. The last time I was there, I tried to flag them down and they took off just as I walked over and had to wait around. It's not a big deal for me since I don't have to be somewhere necessarily but I do make sure to leave extra early coming home because of things like ten minute bus rides to the airport etc.

That's better than LAX. You either have to take a shuttle to an individual car rental company location or you take a shuttle to a location where you can then take another shuttle to your car rental location.

That's better than LAX. You either have to take a shuttle to an individual car rental company location or you take a shuttle to a location where you can then take another shuttle to your car rental location.Yeah, I was going to say something about that and then I decided not to. lol... But, LAX really sucks. I know they're renovating the airport though. Don't know exactly how much of it they're doing.

LAX has been under continual construction and renovation since the first time I flew there about 50 years ago. I don't think there are any major plans concerning car rental facilities though.

On Airport rental cars are becoming a think of the past. More often than not at decent sized airport, you're finding yourself taking some sort of shuttle.

In OKC, it's stupidity at its finest. We JUST moved rentals on-site a few years ago, and now we're thinking about moving them back out. Everyone already HAD (and they dont all anymore) facilities on Meridian for the airport traffic. Now we're talking about throwing them together just down the road where they're going to have to build a new facility....again. So yet again, we'll see abandoned buildings on meridian between airport rd and 29th. I count 3 different Enterprise locations through time. Now we've got a nice large abandoned location next to the current Enterprise....Hertz moved out completely (and their building is still empty).

Just stupid....let's make it LESS convenient for the customer. That's always a good idea, right?

On Airport rental cars are becoming a think of the past. More often than not at decent sized airport, you're finding yourself taking some sort of shuttle.

In OKC, it's stupidity at its finest. We JUST moved rentals on-site a few years ago, and now we're thinking about moving them back out. Everyone already HAD (and they dont all anymore) facilities on Meridian for the airport traffic. Now we're talking about throwing them together just down the road where they're going to have to build a new facility....again. So yet again, we'll see abandoned buildings on meridian between airport rd and 29th. I count 3 different Enterprise locations through time. Now we've got a nice large abandoned location next to the current Enterprise....Hertz moved out completely (and their building is still empty).

Just stupid....let's make it LESS convenient for the customer. That's always a good idea, right?

Plenty of things make life less convenient. The fact of the matter is, the current space is not large enough for future growth. It is currently consuming space that would normally be covered parking for the local passengers. So you could make a case that the current setup is inconveniencing the locals at the benefit of the visitor. I'm sure if the airport had the space, on-site would be preferred. Unfortunately that's not the case and the only way to allow for a larger facility is to place it on a 3-4 minute shuttle ride. Big deal.

Plus, the city could be rebated the $.05 / gallon equivalent tax on the product.

Atlanta's ATL Sky Train cost around $430M per mile. That would buy a lot of CNG, buses, drivers, et al. Unfortunate.

The whole place cost $640 million but we aren't building a facility that rents 2,000,000 cars per year so I don't know what Atlanta's cost has to do with it.

Hartsfield-Jackson to open new rental car center | www.ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/news/business/hartsfield-jackson-to-open-new-rental-car-center/nQZpG/)

Why not just build another parking garage immediately north of the new one built a couple of years ago? The first 2-3 floors could be used to house the rental cars and the remaining floors could be used for additional long term parking.

This would provide for easy access to the rental cars (by just walking a little bit further) for rental car patrons in a new, clean, and completely climate controlled environment (via the tunnel). The cars would be protected from the elements (for the most part). The additional long-term parking would more than make up for the loss of surface parking. Converting the current rental car space to more short-term parking would ease shortages there. Additionally, there would be no need for shuttle buses or a short rail route, thus eliminating those associated operating expenses (and any environmental concerns).

Yeah, I was going to say something about that and then I decided not to. lol... But, LAX really sucks. I know they're renovating the airport though. Don't know exactly how much of it they're doing.

Believe it or not, in 1988, Hertz had 30,000 cars at LAX.

I'd rather them demo the 2 story short term, build a 5 story. Put your short term on the top two floors. Put your rental cars on the ground floor and up to level 3. But that still doesn't eliminate the need for the support facilities (extra storage, washing and cleaning facilities, etc.).

I'd rather them demo the 2 story short term, build a 5 story. Put your short term on the top two floors. Put your rental cars on the ground floor and up to level 3. But that still doesn't eliminate the need for the support facilities (extra storage, washing and cleaning facilities, etc.).

Many people probably don't fully appreciate what happens to the rental car before or after they drop it off and assume it goes right back on the rental line the second they get out of it. Watching the flow of vehicles at the Atlanta facilty is pretty cool. A full service all in one facility must be orders of magnitude more efficient than how OKC does it now, which probably explains why Pete paid twice as much for his rental car in OKC than I did this week for my rental car in Atlanta ($107.07 for 5 days - after all fees and taxes).

which probably explains why Pete paid twice as much for his rental car in OKC than I did this week for my rental car in Atlanta ($107.07 for 5 days - after all fees and taxes).

You definitely got a bargain, Kerry. The car rental companies normally consider 5 - 7 days to be the same weekly rate. I'm renting a car in LA in March. Even with my industry 20 discount it's going to cost me about $350 for a week.

Many people probably don't fully appreciate what happens to the rental car before or after they drop it off and assume it goes right back on the rental line the second they get out of it. Watching the flow of vehicles at the Atlanta facilty is pretty cool. A full service all in one facility must be orders of magnitude more efficient than how OKC does it now, which probably explains why Pete paid twice as much for his rental car in OKC than I did this week for my rental car in Atlanta ($107.07 for 5 days - after all fees and taxes).

It's a matter of supply and demand pricing in the area facility. Obviously Atlanta had a lot more non-rented vehicles on the lot than OKC did.

Mark Kranenburg, who is the director of airports for OKC, gave a short talk this morning at a breakfast I attended. In giving an update on what is planned at the airport he talked about. He gave several reasons for this decision but there were two main points that stuck with me. He said the airport can't devote enough parking in the current lots to satisfy what is realistically needed and that it's not unusual for the rental companies to run out of cars. He also mentioned that most rental companies have to maintain off airport locations to service and wash the cars which is very inconvenient. As Kerry mentioned, that probably contributes to the high cost of rentals in OKC.

My gripe is the back and forth switching. We only in the last few years went to ON airport rentals. It was just a short few years ago that we had people riding shuttles to the off airport sites. Then we switched and everyone said "YAY, this is great". Travelers had a much better experience. The parking garages still really dont run out of room (and we'd have more if they'd finish working on the damned things instead of it being a 10 year project just to fix some crusty concrete). In the years since the new garage was opened, i've yet to go up to the gate and is say it was full...and OH MY, have to park and take the shuttle.

I've taken that shuttle and actually used to regularly rather than use the garage. Believe it or not, i've timed it, and i get to the security checkpoing in the same amount of time whether i walk the tunnel or ride the shuttle from the next lot.

As I had said in a previous post, if you drive up meridian, you'll see all the old buildings for the rental companies from how things have flipped back and forth over the years. And most of the last round of them are EMPTY now. The lots were mostly pretty small as well. And the larger ones were just stupidly designed <- Budget/Dollar/Thrifty/Hertz. ALL of the lots were dumb in their design and weren't set up to manage a flow like a real rental facility either. They're most small office parking lots than rental lots.

I just with the airport would make up its mind. Either do it in the garage or don't...but stop flip-flopping.

The new garage just doesn't make any sense and most of the construction quality was just piss poor on some things. I really hate our airport.

This reminds me of the rental car scene from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

I just with the airport would make up its mind. Either do it in the garage or don't...but stop flip-flopping.

I think they have made up their mind so you won't have to be concerned about it any more.

The new garage just doesn't make any sense and most of the construction quality was just piss poor on some things. I really hate our airport.

Our airport, like most, is constantly being updated and rebuilt. Unless we tear it down and start again from scratch there will be issues that people don't like. (And, even then, about half of the people would complain) I really prefer Will Rogers to many others that I go to or through.

Will Rogers is definitely convenient compared to others I've visited, but the construction quality was really piss poor and the design elements just lacked all common sense. I've been really disappointed by the quality displayed.

I really like our airport as well. It's size limits what sort of amenities it's going to be able to offer, but it's also not an airport you're going to spend hours and hours at. It's not a hub or a transfer point, so you're not "connecting" in OKC and laying over for 4 hours. It's not DFW and it doesn't try to be. What it does do, and does pretty well, is move the OKC residents to their airplane in quick manner.

I feel like the new garage works just fine, and the airport itself is perfectly fine. It's still a small airport and not really any bigger than it was when it was built, it's just more modern.

The one thing I do wish they would do....open up that second security point in the mornings. Business travelers have a pretty super long line at 7am. Personally, i always go Southwest Business Class so i can go to the short line, but that other line is dang long. The other point is there, it's just not staffed. In comparison, i went through the John Wayne airport in Anaheim, CA earlier this year. In the middle of the day in the middle of the week, they had multiple points open (granted that airport is laid out in a long line), but the point i went to had ZERO people in line. I even got to have a coversation with the TSA employee about how empty it was. A few minutes later i overheard them discussin closing down that point since traffic was so low....but even the busier gate down the terminal only had 30 people in it.

Any, just blabbering.

I really like our airport as well. It's size limits what sort of amenities it's going to be able to offer, but it's also not an airport you're going to spend hours and hours at. It's not a hub or a transfer point, so you're not "connecting" in OKC and laying over for 4 hours. It's not DFW and it doesn't try to be. What it does do, and does pretty well, is move the OKC residents to their airplane in quick manner.

I feel like the new garage works just fine, and the airport itself is perfectly fine. It's still a small airport and not really any bigger than it was when it was built, it's just more modern.

The one thing I do wish they would do....open up that second security point in the mornings. Business travelers have a pretty super long line at 7am. Personally, i always go Southwest Business Class so i can go to the short line, but that other line is dang long. The other point is there, it's just not staffed. In comparison, i went through the John Wayne airport in Anaheim, CA earlier this year. In the middle of the day in the middle of the week, they had multiple points open (granted that airport is laid out in a long line), but the point i went to had ZERO people in line. I even got to have a coversation with the TSA employee about how empty it was. A few minutes later i overheard them discussin closing down that point since traffic was so low....but even the busier gate down the terminal only had 30 people in it.

Any, just blabbering.

It was poorly designed when they did the remodel... plain and simple. It is aesthetically pleasing, but it is still extremely "small-town".

Other airports our sized and smaller who have done recent remodels have much better and "smoother" looking facilities that function very well. Plenty were designed with space for full service restaurants (or atleast one), wider hallways, better and larger signage (that is logically and strategically placed), etc.

Our airport does offer some connections, my company alone handles about 30 connecting passengers a day in the winter and upwards of 60-80 a day in the summer. A very small percentage overall, but it does add up.

There was not much thought put in to the airport's interior design and movement. Lots of conflict points in the lobby and baggage claim areas, and illogical signage everywhere. The amount of people who cannot find their way around the airport is staggering.

They need to scrap the central concourse and start over....

It was poorly designed when they did the remodel... plain and simple. It is aesthetically pleasing, but it is still extremely "small-town".

Other airports our sized and smaller who have done recent remodels have much better and "smoother" looking facilities that function very well. Plenty were designed with space for full service restaurants (or atleast one), wider hallways, better and larger signage (that is logically and strategically placed), etc.

Our airport does offer some connections, my company alone handles about 30 connecting passengers a day in the winter and upwards of 60-80 a day in the summer. A very small percentage overall, but it does add up.

There was not much thought put in to the airport's interior design and movement. Lots of conflict points in the lobby and baggage claim areas, and illogical signage everywhere. The amount of people who cannot find their way around the airport is staggering.

They need to scrap the central concourse and start over....

This X 100,000. It really is disappointing.

I still think they should go ahead and start The East Concourse...about time they complete it, there will be a demand...and secure some international flights, at least to Mexico...

Not until they get the central terminal area fixed. But that's insanely wishful thinking.

Why not just build another parking garage immediately north of the new one built a couple of years ago? The first 2-3 floors could be used to house the rental cars and the remaining floors could be used for additional long term parking.

This would provide for easy access to the rental cars (by just walking a little bit further) for rental car patrons in a new, clean, and completely climate controlled environment (via the tunnel). The cars would be protected from the elements (for the most part). The additional long-term parking would more than make up for the loss of surface parking. Converting the current rental car space to more short-term parking would ease shortages there. Additionally, there would be no need for shuttle buses or a short rail route, thus eliminating those associated operating expenses (and any environmental concerns).
For the most part garage vs. surface parking comes to down to cost, surface parking averages out to about $5,000 per parking spot, structured parking is around $20,000 per parking spot. If you have the room to do surface parking (like at DIA) then you do it, if not you do structured parking. Right now we are doing a CONRAC QTA facility at Louisville (SDF), this is in preparation for a rental car garage attached to the west end of the terminal. The main reason why they are going to a garage is they do not have enough surface area to park enough cars, mainly on Kentucky Derby weekend. We had to pack the QTA in there and underground utilities have been a huge challenge at the site.

As far as the CONRAC for OKC, nothing is happening on our end, in the year plus that I have been there has been no movement on the project. I haven't seen anything on it, so I don't know anything about the project other than we did the study (in 2009 it seems). We are just wrapping up a new CONRAC at New Orleans (that has been a fiasco), it is garage based but also is an almost $100 million facility (and probably will be when all is said and done). The two principles are from Oklahoma (MWC/Tulsa) and are OU alums so they understand the area, if it made sense to do a garage, it would have been proposed because we have done plenty of garages (airport and RTD). If the airport had additional uses for that property then a garage might be necessary.


It was poorly designed when they did the remodel... plain and simple. It is aesthetically pleasing, but it is still extremely "small-town".

Other airports our sized and smaller who have done recent remodels have much better and "smoother" looking facilities that function very well. Plenty were designed with space for full service restaurants (or atleast one), wider hallways, better and larger signage (that is logically and strategically placed), etc.

Our airport does offer some connections, my company alone handles about 30 connecting passengers a day in the winter and upwards of 60-80 a day in the summer. A very small percentage overall, but it does add up.

There was not much thought put in to the airport's interior design and movement. Lots of conflict points in the lobby and baggage claim areas, and illogical signage everywhere. The amount of people who cannot find their way around the airport is staggering.

They need to scrap the central concourse and start over....
Security issues caused a lot of problems with the design. The design work was performed pre-9/11, with construction barely under way we had to redesign the bulk of the security areas and eat up a lot of the space and traffic flow so it ended up being less than optimal. If the design work had been performed post-9/11 I would imagine there would be significant differences to the design. You also have to remember, most of these projects are designed to budgets that are not sufficient for what the airport would like to see, so compromises are made in every area and finishes are the area that always seems to be cut. We are doing a brand new terminal at Minot, ND (6 gates) next to the existing terminal (2 gates) which makes it much easier to do things "right". Renovation work is always a compromise in every way and even more so when you have to keep a facility operational.

And you realize the central area is the one area that wasn't dozed, right? It's still the original structure with a facelift. And if you get lost in the OKC airport, that's pretty dumb...it's one short walk of all of 2 minutes from one end to the opposite end. And the numbers go in order. I'm not sure how you can get lost there. Go check out O'Hare and then come back to OKC and tell me you get lost in OKC because of signage.....please.

And you realize the central area is the one area that wasn't dozed, right? It's still the original structure with a facelift. And if you get lost in the OKC airport, that's pretty dumb...it's one short walk of all of 2 minutes from one end to the opposite end. And the numbers go in order. I'm not sure how you can get lost there. Go check out O'Hare and then come back to OKC and tell me you get lost in OKC because of signage.....please.

I did not say the concourse, I said the central terminal. I can imagine how confusing it is for someone unfamiliar with it.

O'hare is a breeze to navigate, they have excellent signage. O'hare is just large/time consuming, but the signage prevents you from getting lost.

Next time you are in the airport, look at our signage and imagine this was the first time you ever used our airport...

Be sure to enjoy the trek through the 3rd world underground walkway from the garages to the terminal.

I've never understood the negativity some have on here for the airport. There's always room for improvement. But most people I know who are from out of town are usually very complimentary on it and it gives quite a favorable impression on the city. Just look at the reviews on Yelp or Google.

The security areas are awkwardly placed but as bluedogok pointed out that's a post 9/11 reality.

Be sure to enjoy the trek through the 3rd world underground walkway from the garages to the terminal.

I did this Saturday and it was easy and fast, clear to the last exit elevator.

I did this Saturday and it was easy and fast, clear to the last exit elevator.
Same here. I don't see a problem with it.

Besides the leaks in the tunnel when it rains, it is functional. But it is very bland, unimaginative, and an ugly tunnel.

It has Okie development syndrome, do the basic necessary for function and do not allow any excess to make it look good or be "artsy".

That's because its a freakin' tunnel from the airport to a parking garage, not a museum. Nobody cares except a handful of people who have nothing more important to complain about. With only one exception I couldn't tell you anything specific about any airport I've ever been to and I don't base my opinion of a city by what I see in passing at an airport. I don't hang out much in airports if I can help it and as long as it's clean and relatively efficient about moving me from point A to point B, I couldn't care less what artwork or design elements are used.

Yes it's a tunnel.

So is the tunnel in Terminal 1 at Chicago O'Hare:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4002/4352152239_98769665e6_o.jpg

So is the tunnel in Frankfurt, Germany:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Frankfurt_Airport_tunnel.JPG
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRWTjkNXomfVIlfcG39bmsCW1QtbGvTB Y6QBGBy84q6kpeaRySM

So is the tunnel in Detroit Metro Airport.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2663/3794190690_32676ea70b.jpg

And then we have our bland, boring, leaking tunnel to show off to people visiting from out of town going to their rental cars.

It all comes down to money.....

Here's some photos of Birmingham, AL recent terminal expansion/remodel. Looks so much more "big city" than ours.

Photos & Pictures | Photos from Birmingham - al.com (http://photos.al.com/4461/gallery/birmingham-shuttlesworth_international_airport_expansion/index.html)

It all comes down to money.....

Obviously, if you look at the construction and design quality of our airport -- money was a big issue it seems.

And then we have our bland, boring, leaking tunnel to show off to people visiting from out of town going to their rental cars.

Wouldn't people renting cars merely walk out the door, head north about 100 feet, and get in their rental car? Why would they go down to the tunnel?

I see people using both methods.

Here's some photos of Birmingham, AL recent terminal expansion/remodel. Looks so much more "big city" than ours.

Photos & Pictures | Photos from Birmingham - al.com (http://photos.al.com/4461/gallery/birmingham-shuttlesworth_international_airport_expansion/index.html)

Not a fan of the low ceiling heights. Too claustrophobic.

Not a fan of the low ceiling heights. Too claustrophobic.

I was actually about to post the same thing. I much prefer our bright and open setup at WRWA. I guess its just a matter of personal preference. I don't see how its more "big city" though.

The ceiling height looks to be around 22 feet or so. Not sure how much more vertical room you need considering the average height of the human is around 5'9" and most offices are 11 ft tall. This is comparable to many airports around the world. Ceiling heights aside, just going off of the pictures alone, I can tell their airport has a much better feel to it than ours does. Check out that signage...you can actually read it and the signs are numerous. Our use a transparent green background plexi-glass looking material, with white stickers (I have seen where they have peeled the stickers off to change information and the background is a different color in the outline) for letters. Big city....

I was actually about to post the same thing. I much prefer our bright and open setup at WRWA. I guess its just a matter of personal preference. I don't see how its more "big city" though.

I really enjoy the setup at WRWA, too. It gets lots of compliments from friends and work colleagues from Austin, who have a similar setup in their relatively brand new airport.

The ceiling height looks to be around 22 feet or so. Not sure how much more vertical room you need considering the average height of the human is around 5'9" and most offices are 11 ft tall. This is comparable to many airports around the world. ....

Look at the 3rd picture. The guy's on a 3' platform and his heads against the ceiling. Scale is all wrong.

Dozer bait.

Look at the 3rd picture. The guy's on a 3' platform and his heads against the ceiling. Scale is all wrong.

Dozer bait.
So are these 3 foot tall doorways then?
http://media.al.com/birmingham-news/photo/2013/02/12262054-standard.jpg

Obviously, if you look at the construction and design quality of our airport -- money was a big issue it seems.
There were a lot of compromises made in terms of design and budget, much to the dismay of the designers, all areas had some budget cuts.

The only thing that I worked on for the renovation project was the redesign of the security areas in the very early post-9/11 period. The security that we are doing in Minot is much different than what we were allowed to do 12 years ago.

The ceiling height looks to be around 22 feet or so. Not sure how much more vertical room you need considering the average height of the human is around 5'9" and most offices are 11 ft tall. This is comparable to many airports around the world. Ceiling heights aside, just going off of the pictures alone, I can tell their airport has a much better feel to it than ours does. Check out that signage...you can actually read it and the signs are numerous. Our use a transparent green background plexi-glass looking material, with white stickers (I have seen where they have peeled the stickers off to change information and the background is a different color in the outline) for letters. Big city....

Sorry, I agree with the others. The Birmingham airport looks nice but I saw nothing that would make me prefer it over ours. The concourse is very generic and the exterior of the building looks cheap compared to Will Rogers.

Have you ever experienced the Big City airports in places like LA or Miami? Give me OKC any day for ambience.

The creation of the TSA ruined any kind of pleasant experience I may have at an airport. I just want to get out of there as fast as possible.

The creation of the TSA ruined any kind of pleasant experience I may have at an airport. I just want to get out of there as fast as possible.

That's great, jn. Now I can get through the line faster. LOL

That's great, jn. Now I can get through the line faster. LOL

If only. Lol

Sorry, I agree with the others. The Birmingham airport looks nice but I saw nothing that would make me prefer it over ours. The concourse is very generic and the exterior of the building looks cheap compared to Will Rogers.

Have you ever experienced the Big City airports in places like LA or Miami? Give me OKC any day for ambience.

Yes I visit LA quite often. I might even go next week. I've also worked at a hub....

Our airport is aesthetically pleasing (for the most part) but it is still cramped in areas, and from a functional standpoint is still subpar. The airport was poorly designed. It does not function smoothly, especially for operational purposes.

That's because its a freakin' tunnel from the airport to a parking garage, not a museum. Nobody cares except a handful of people who have nothing more important to complain about. With only one exception I couldn't tell you anything specific about any airport I've ever been to and I don't base my opinion of a city by what I see in passing at an airport. I don't hang out much in airports if I can help it and as long as it's clean and relatively efficient about moving me from point A to point B, I couldn't care less what artwork or design elements are used.

People like you annoy me to no end. To say nobody cares is patently false, and I assure you, I've got plenty of other things that are far more important to complain about. I'm sorry you're oblivious to your surroundings, but I would like projects held to a higher standard than simply being moved from A to B.