Friday, July 16, 1999
Friday, July 16, 1999 |
By
MONROE ROARK
Thrifty Car Rental's days at Falcon Field are history. The Peachtree City Airport Authority voted at last week's regular meeting to terminate the airport's agreement with Thrifty and issue a request for proposals for a new rental car provider, with airside customers a priority. The airport would have to give Thrifty 30 days notice, according to airport manager Jim Savage, and he would do that as soon as possible. He actually did it the next day, and Thrifty decided to remove its cars immediately, Savage told The Citizen earlier this week. Savage said that the car rental counter takes too much of his staff's time at the most inopportune moments, often simply due to answering the Thrifty phone when airside customers are in need of assistance. Since an average of one car a day was being rented by airport customers and about a dozen a day by other walk-in customers, it was considered a poor investment for the airport. Savage also reported that Thrifty has not paid the airport on time, and he has often been unsuccessful in his attempts to reach a representative of the company. The airport has been in discussions with Enterprise Rent-a-Car about leasing space away from the main terminal, out of the way of the airport staff, and keeping only one or two cars on site for airside customers. Authority chairman Robert Patterson indicated he was in favor of a change. “I'm just one vote, but I'm ready to cut the strings on Thrifty,” he said. “I'm ready to let some others have a shot at this.” Patterson pointed out that Thrifty had agreed to pay the airport a 10 percent cut of its take at Falcon Field, then simply raised its rates 10 percent to cover that cost, which did not sit well with the chairman. Authority member Catherine Nelmes said she thought it was a good idea to issue a generic request for proposals and “see what people offer.” Other local car rental agencies and several auto dealerships will likely be considered before a decision is made. Savage said Tuesday that the RFP will be somewhat broad, allowing prospective suppliers to tell him what the best way to operate might be, rather than Falcon Field making concrete stipulations on staffing and other matters up front.
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