"BWI looks into new services for visitors"

Saturday, November 13, 2004

BWI looks into new services for visitors
Airport is adding shuttle buses, more space for cars and might provide
kennel attendants for "park and bark." 
By Meredith Cohn
The Baltimore (MD) Sun


Next year, passengers at Baltimore-Washington International Airport might be
able to pull up to the terminal, hand their keys to a valet, order a carwash
and drop off their dog with a kennel attendant.

Now that thousands of parking spaces have been added near the terminal as
part of a $1.8 billion airport improvement program, managers are
contemplating smaller ways to pamper those who are time-starved or have
found parking inconvenient, expensive or otherwise unpleasant in the past.

Competition from cheaper private lots has been growing as the airport has
expanded, taking potential business from BWI. Also, the management contract
for BWI's parking garages, which expires early next year, is set for renewal
by the state Monday. Those two factors prompted airport operators to
consider offering new services.

BWI managers have made a commitment to buy 50 new buses to take passengers
to and from their cars, and they plan a "garage sale" for the holidays in
the hourly parking structure nearest to the terminal. Parking will be $20 a
day instead of $30 from Monday to Jan. 15.

Paul J. Wiedefeld, executive director of the Maryland Aviation
Administration, which operates BWI, called the reduced price a bonus to
customers during the crush of the season. He noted that travelers' parking
experiences can leave lasting impressions and that improvements can help the
airport's image in the face of competition and complaints.

"Parking is a large aspect of airports, and we're looking for ways to boost
services," Wiedefeld said this week during a meeting of the Maryland
Aviation Commission, an advisory board.

The car washing, valet and dog care - nicknamed "park and bark" - are just
ideas stemming from brainstorming among staff. Some services are available
elsewhere, such as valet parking and car washes, but airport managers were
unsure whether the dog kennel idea had been tried. They are deciding which
amenities to pursue, how much they would cost and who would operate them.

For now, they are focusing on parking.

Maryland Parking LP operates the airport's parking, and BWI officials are
recommending renewal of its contract to oversee about 30,000 public spaces
in three garages and three lots. Records from the state Department of Public
Works, which is responsible for approving the contract, show that the deal
is estimated to produce $286 million in concession fees during the next five
years.

Airport parking is becoming a bigger business, with at least three private
lots operating nearby. Econopark Express LLC plans to open another one in
the spring with 1,200 spaces.

Shirley L. Gerard, Econopark's partner and general manager, said she will
compete by charging less than the $8 a day it costs to park in BWI's
long-term lots and by offering more.

"The bus will follow you to your car when you enter the lot, wait until
you're ready, help you with your bags and give you a slip so you remember
where you parked," she said.

Travel agents say lots at and around BWI are competitive with those at other
airports. Parking at Philadelphia International Airport costs from $8 daily
for long-term parking to $38 daily for short-term. Other airports, such as
Washington Dulles International Airport, offer valet service.

But Jay Ellenby, chief executive of Safe Harbors Travel Group in Baltimore,
said BWI should consider competition in its back yard and continue to look
for new services to offer. He said his clients complain about the prices of
parking and the waiting time for buses.

"Discounts always draw people," he said. "The services will keep people
coming, too, although I'm not so sure about the dog kennel. It's good to see
them making adjustments."

Kevin Abell, regional director of Roland Park Travel and other travel agency
divisions of Houston-based Frosch International Travel, said some of his
high-end clients use off-site parking lots because they guarantee spaces for
regular customers. But those lots, like BWI's long-term lots, are too far
from the terminal, he said.

"The one thing I don't understand is why they built the lots in never-never
land," he said. "It is too far to walk to the terminal. There is no shuttle
train, like so many other airports have, so you end up waiting for a shuttle
bus, just like the off-site lots. But the big difference is, the off-site
lots pull right up to your car to help you load and unload, something that
is a big plus factor for women who may need help with their bags and are
security-conscious."

Abell said some of his clients who use car services might be tempted by the
valet parking for its convenience and the $20 holiday garage parking offer.

The newest garage at BWI, called the daily garage, opened this year. It
costs $10 a day, has 8,400 parking spaces, and customers must take the bus
to the terminal.

More than 1,000 spots were freed up in December in the 5,300-space hourly
garage, which is connected to the terminal, when rental car operations were
moved to a new facility nearby. Both garages were equipped with "smart
park," which directs drivers to the empty spaces.

The 50 new diesel buses that will transport passengers - about 5.5 million
annually - to and from the lots and garages have been ordered from Hayward,
Calif.-based Gillig Corp. and are in production. They will be 40 feet long
and will have wheelchair ramps and room for 29 passengers and their luggage.
They cost a total of $15.34 million, according to state records.

Ted Gest, who lives in Washington and travels out of BWI every few months,
said the bus system appears to have kinks, maybe from airport construction
or because of new parking options. But he is glad that airport officials
have been paying attention to travelers' concerns, he said.

Gest said he had a "nightmare" experience in July when he returned about
midnight on a Wednesday to find that there were no clear bus stop signs,
buses too packed to stop and groups of people growing frustrated.

He and a friend, tired after a flight back from Reno, Nev., waded into
traffic and stopped a bus headed to a long-term parking lot.


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