I am impressed with Phoenix Sky Harbor rental car facility. Its modern, easy to navigate, and top of the line. I see only one problem – If you enter the airport from the east (Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale) you have to drive completely through the terminal area to get to the RCF. So far so good.
The problem is that there are at least a dozen turning decisions you have to make, following signs, to get to the facility. If you make one wrong, you are lost. I made it, but frankly at 5 AM after a relatively sleepless night, it wasn’t easy. I don’t know if this is a design flaw or simply the only alternative, but all these folks, everyone unfamiliar with the airport, driving through the terminal area, getting lost, doesn’t seem to me to be too good an idea.
Also – my pet travelling peeve of the week – Little voices that tell you how to do things you already know how to do – At the escalator there is a disembodied voice that says “You are stepping on the escalator, take care” or some such. As if I didn’t know. Or the famous “TSA has designated certain items that are illegal to bring past security. If you don’t know what they are, check with your air carrier.” This one is heard after you have stood in line for 15 minutes and in no way could get to a “air carrier” if you wanted to.
These little messages and many like them provide no information people need, are summarily ignored and simply add to the din at the terminal. Do away with them and let all us hapless rubes fumble our way to the plane. We’ll make it, we promise.
JVH
One Response
I used to travel there for business 4 – 5 times a year. The key there, as with any airport, is to pay attention when the shuttle drives you from the landside terminal to the consolidated rental facility. Then you at least have a general idea of what side of the airport it’s on and can use sound judgement and direction-finding in conjunction with the posted signage to get back. I guess it’s also important that, after my first 3 yrs of traveling for work, I purchased a small Garmin GPS and carried it everywhere I went. Before I left the rental car facility, I’d set a waypoint in my GPS to ensure I could always get back. I’m sure as much as you travel you’ve figured out similar tricks of the trade.