"New Orleans airport striving to attract parkers"

Saturday, September 13, 2003

Airport striving to attract parkers 
Lower rates set at new garage but they might not last for long
By Matt Scallan
The New Orleans (LA) Times Picayune


When a 2,500-space addition to the parking garage at Louis Armstrong
International Airport opens Oct. 1, travelers who use it will pay less than
they do now -- at least for a while. 

The New Orleans Aviation Board voted Friday to set the rates for the new
garage at $10 per day, while raising the daily rate in the existing garage
to $15, up from the current $12 a day. The daily valet parking fee will rise
from $14 to $17 per day. 
          
The new garage is farther away from the terminal than the current
2,600-space garage, but is still within easy walking distance, airport
officials said. 

Those rates may not last for long, Aviation Director Roy Williams said.
Depending on demand, the rates could rise to $12 and $18 per day,
respectively. The lower rates are designed to entice people to use the new
garage. 

"We don't want to set the prices so high on Day One that people wouldn't
want to try it," Williams said. 

And in a move to encourage "meeters and greeters" to use the garage, the
parking fee for an hour or less will drop from $2.50 to $2 at both the new
and old garages. 

The airport faces stiff competition from several private parking companies
that offer good shuttle service to the airport terminal. Those companies,
which have kept their rates just below the airport's, have been expanding
their lots in recent years, as post-Sept. 11 security measures and the loss
of spaces due to garage construction have made parking at the airport less
convenient. 

The airport is fighting back with changes to make parking close to the
terminal more convenient. 

There will be 11 toll booths, an increase from four before construction
started, and a second exit from the garage. 

And an array of payment options will let people bypass the long lines of
motorists waiting to pay their fee in cash. Already installed are "pay on
foot" terminals, around baggage claim and near the entrances to the
airport's concourses. The system allows the customer to use a credit or
debit card to pay the parking bill before getting to the garage. The
customer stuffs the ticket into a slot at any toll booth on the way out. 

Electronic devices similar to toll tags will enable frequent fliers to get
in and out of the garage even more quickly. 

"We are going to be offering a lot more amenities to get people on their
way," said Ronald Burns, a partner in New South Parking Inc., which manages
the airport's parking operation. 

Among them will be an auto detailing service for valet parking customers, he
said. 

The new garage might be a boon to travelers, but debt on the project will
mean the airport will rake in only $3.2 million in 2004, compared with an
expected $4.9 million this year. The decline is expected even though the
airport projects gross revenue to increase from $10 million in 2003 to $10.5
million in 2004. 

The $46 million garage is being built by New South, a partnership between
Central Parking Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., and Burns Management of New
Orleans on behalf of the Parking Facilities Corp., a public benefit
corporation that leases the land from the airport and borrowed the money for
the project. The airport will own the garage once the bonds are repaid in 30
years. 

New South gets a $750,000-a-year fee to run the airport's parking operation.


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