Going to Birmingham, AL, end of September

[Bill]

Really want to use a smaller airport, and Bessemer (KEKY) is only 12mi from our hotel. But, we will be arriving after 6pm Friday evening and will not be able to get a rental car. Offices close at 6pm.

Why to GA airports do this? So now we may have to pay the fees to fly in to KBHM.

Anyone have a Birmingham airport recommendation that will allow us to pick up a car after 6pm Friday and return it on Sunday?

 

[jtheune]

I've rented from Enterprise before in that kind of situation and they have delivered the car to the airport and left the keys hidden for me. You might want to check with them.

 

[Bill]

I've rented from Enterprise before in that kind of situation and they have delivered the car to the airport and left the keys hidden for me. You might want to check with them.

Will give it a try, the fees and fuel prices at Atlantic Aviation are fairly high.

 

[AdamZ]

Bill see if you can get a cab or ride to the hotel and rent the car through the hotel.

 

[Ted]

I think the real reason ends up being there's not enough traffic for them to justify paying an employee to sit around. Most of the people who need extra services go to the full-service FBOs anyway. Annoying for us.

Sometimes if the local airports have a courtesy car they'll hide the keys and let you borrow it overnight. I was able to do that before.

 

[bbchien]

Bill, call the FBO, see if they won't give you the crew car overnight, as in fax them a copy of your DL and maybe even a low limit visa card to guarantee fuel. After all, nobody else is going to want it after they close. Arrange an Hertz or Enterprise for 09:00 Saturday.

Buy all the fuel you can from him. Make it worth his effort. He'll leave the key say.....in the phone book or under the floor mat.....

 

[Bill]

Arrange an Hertz or Enterprise for 09:00 Saturday......

But we will need to be at the swim meet (morning practice) by 6:30am each morning. Ugh.

Trip is only 2:40 by car (0:42 by air), so I just may decide to drive.

 

[CJones]

I was about to post about how the last time I flew in to BHM the fees weren't bad at all. Then I realized that was 7 years ago. Wow... Time flies (pun intended). So my data point is probably irrelevant nowadays. When I was there, though, their crew car was a new Caddy with ~150 miles on it.

 

[Bill]

I was about to post about how the last time I flew in to BHM the fees weren't bad at all.

I called, not as bad as I thought based on the whiners on Airnav. $40 facility fee waived if I buy at least 15g at $7.09/g.

 

[teethdoc]

I called, not as bad as I thought based on the whiners on Airnav. $40 facility fee waived if I buy at least 15g at $7.09/g.

I'm based out of KBHM. I like the East side better than the west. There is a cool aviation museum close to the east ramp. You may also check out KEET and see how late they are opened and how close they are to your hotel.

 

[Steve]

Bill, is Tuscaloosa (TCL) to far away?

Bama Air is very accommodating.

http://www.bamaair.com/id3.html

http://www.bamaair.com/id2.html

I use them and the avionics shop (Mid-South) located in their hangar routinely.

 

[Bill]

Nice VFR flight last night, picked up the rental car at Atlantic east. Any recommendations for dinner in Birmingham ? We prefer locally owned to chain and casual enough to allow shorts/jeans.

 

[teethdoc]

Nice VFR flight last night, picked up the rental car at Atlantic east. Any recommendations for dinner in Birmingham ? We prefer locally owned to chain and casual enough to allow shorts/jeans.

Where did you end up eating? Saw's Soul Kitchen would have been my recommendation. It's in the ghetto, but well worth the risk of getting mugged.

 

[Bill]

Where did you end up eating? Saw's Soul Kitchen would have been my recommendation. It's in the ghetto, but well worth the risk of getting mugged.

She was in the afternoon session, which ran late, and was in the next to last heat. By the time we got back to the hotel and cleaned up it was 8:30pm, the women folk were hungry and grumpy, so we bailed and hit the Applebee's 1/2mi from the hotel.

Both my wife and daughter get very moody when very hungry, so sometimes expedience beats other factors.

I was suprised at how hilly the country is in the Birmingham area, I expected it to be relatively flat.