Car Rental at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

The Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport records passenger traffic of over twenty million per annum, and is therefore one of the largest in the country of the United States. It is located nearby to both Baltimore and Washington, hence its name, and has been allocated the IATA code of BWI. The airport is well equipped with facilities, and is a modern and efficient establishment. In the past it has been voted as the best airport in the world. There are many options for travelling from the airport, including rented cars from one of the Baltimore-Washington International Airport car hire companies. The airport car rental companies offer competitive prices and a wide range of high quality vehicles.

The BWI Airport has five concourses, although two of these five can be considered as one, as they were recently joined by renovations. They are Concourses A and B, and are used by Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways. Concourses C and D are another two buildings for domestic arrivals and departures, and are home to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Eagle, JetBlue, US Airways, United Airlines and a number of other companies, while Concourse E is the international terminal of the airport, for all international flight arrivals besides those from airports that are equipped with US-border preclearance facilities. Arriving passengers should make their way outside of their concourse (lower level) for access to the car rental shuttles that provide transport to the new car hire facility of the airport.

The shuttles provided by the car hire companies are free of charge, and available approximately every ten minutes from each concourse. They will take just ten minutes as well to travel to the car hire companies. The shuttles can accommodate a person with reduced mobility challenges, and are able to store a reasonable number of luggage items. The Baltimore-Washington International Airport car rental companies include Avis, Hertz, Budget, National, Alamo, Enterprise, Easycar, Thrifty, Dollar, Auto Europa and Europcar. The majority of these companies are located at 7432 New Ridge Road, to where the shuttles operate. The facility is in Hanover, and is a spacious establishment with sufficient parking spaces for all the rented cars. Therefore, once at the car hire facility, there will be no need for further transport.

A variety of services are available from each of the airport’s car hire companies, and a selection of price ranges are available. Passengers travelling for business purposes will find that National or Enterprise are good options, as they offer comprehensive business rental programs, and passengers travelling for leisure purposes may like Avis, Alamo, Budget or Auto Europa. Hertz is especially popular for their large selection of vehicles that can be reserved by their specific makes and models, rather than just by category, and Thrifty and Dollar have a unique car category from where a larger vehicle may be received for a Compact vehicle price. Easycar is another popular choice amongst leisure travellers, with all-inclusive rental rates. Take note that customers of Europcar will need to collect their vehicle from the National rental counters.

Although online and advanced reservations are preferable, vehicles can be hired directly over the rental counters. Either way, the primary renter will need a driving license, a major credit card and should be at least 21 years of age. The same conditions apply to second-drivers registered on the rental contract. All drivers below the age of 25 will pay higher rental rates, for young driver fees. This is standard operation by all car hire companies. The extra amount to pay could be around $30 per day of car hire, and per young driver registered on the rental contract. US-issued driving licenses are accepted, as well as Canadian-endorsed licenses. International travellers may need further documents to support their local licenses, especially if it is not printed in English. The major credit cards which may be used for car hire include American Express, Diner’s Club Int’l, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, GE Capital, PHH, Sears and AT&T Capital. Car hire companies may also have their own charge cards.

Vehicles that are collected from the Baltimore-Washington Airport Car Rental facility are usually returned to the same location as well, unless a one way hire is arranged. This service allows the vehicle to be returned to different location. Each company has different policies regarding one way rentals, and may not allow the service for all car categories. From Baltimore-Washington Airport, one way hires may also incur additional charges. To return to this airport’s car rental centre, simply follow the highway directional signs.

All cars are rented with a full tank of fuel, and have been cleaned prior to your rental. The vehicle should be returned in a reasonable condition, and re-fuelled if you did not purchase fuel at the start of the rental period. However, if fuel was purchased, return it as empty as possible, as no refunds are given for unused fuel. If you are short of time, allow your car hire company to refuel the vehicle on your behalf, but keep in mind there are extra charges for this service. Child seats and satellite navigation systems can be hired with any vehicle, and with certain automatic cars from Baltimore-Washington International Airport, hand controls may be requested. Hand controls are for drivers with a lower limb disability only, and are free of charge. All other items will cost a few extra dollars per day of hire.

Smaller cars with the lowest rental rates available from this airport location could be similar to the Chevrolet Aveo, Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Accent and Ford Focus. There are larger cars available as well, such as the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Impala, while SUVs for hire include the Ford Edge, Ford Escape, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and Lincoln Navigator. Larger SUVs seat seven passengers. Seven people can also travel in the Dodge Grand Caravan, a minivan available from the majority of car rental companies. Further vehicle categories available include Premium, Luxury, Crossover and Passenger Van.

Contact your favourite Baltimore-Washington International Airport car rental company to find out more information on their best car hire deals.