National Car Rental at Tampa Airport

Tampa International Airport is referred to by its official airport code of TPA, and is located in the American state of Florida. It is found in Hillsborough County, approximately 6 miles, or 11km from the central area of Tampa. It serves the entire Tampa Bay area, and around sixteen million passengers per annum, which makes it the thirtieth busiest airport by passengers in North America. Although there are bus and taxi services for ground transportation, many arriving passengers prefer to rent a car, from car hire companies such as National Tampa International Airport. Avis, Hertz, Budget and Alamo are present as well, and all provide attractive car rental rates.

National at Tampa Airport is found along the George J. Bean Parkway, a short distance from the terminal building, and is open from 12:00am to 11:59pm, therefore, twenty-four hours a day. Passengers on all of the airport’s arrival flights will therefore have no trouble with collecting their hired vehicles. The airport car rental facility is rated as one of the best out of all American airports, and is busy. Passengers should always try to hire their vehicle as far in advance as possible in order to ensure that their ideal selection is ready and waiting for their arrival. An earlier, online reservation also often secures the lowest rental rates. Hire additional items of equipment such as child seats and satellite navigation systems in advance as well.

Certain services from National may also be best requested early. National one way hires are an ideal choice for renters who do not plan to return to the airport, perhaps because they are leaving from another airport or train station, and National’s hand controls for disabled drivers will require at least forty-eight hours notice prior to the customer’s arrival at Tampa International Airport. Hand controls are only permitted to be used by persons with a lower limb disability as they operate the brake and accelerator pedals of vehicles with an automatic transmission. Persons who do not have a disability may not request hand controls. From Tampa International Airport, one way hires arranged may be driven to all areas of Florida, and into the neighbouring states as well, however, cross border rentals whereby the vehicle is taken out of the country are often not permitted. National will provide further details for the possible return locations of a rented car.

The Tampa International Airport car rental companies all offer a good selection of vehicle categories that contain various sized cars that are of a high quality. The Economy class has cars similar to the Chevy Aveo, the Compact category has cars similar to the Nissan Versa and the Toyota Corolla is an example of a car found in the Midsize category, a popular choice for many renters. Standard and Fullsize vehicles are slightly larger, and similar to the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Impala. They often come with power locks and windows, air conditioning, CD players, power mirrors and cruise control. They also have room for five passengers and four luggage items.

National has mainly focused their attention on serving frequent airport business travellers, and during their years of service, have helped pioneer the corporate account and introduced the first comprehensive frequent renter program (Emerald Club). Since many of their customers require more elegant vehicles that are capable of creating a professional impression, National hires the Toyota Avalon, Lincoln MKS and Cadillac DTS from the Premium, Full Size Elite and Luxury car categories. A Luxury SUV available is the Lincoln Navigator with room for seven passengers and a couple of luggage items, and with driver and passengers airbags, a leather interior and cruise control. Further SUVs that are popular include the Ford Escape, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban. The last two mentioned are also of a larger size. Convertibles, pickups, jeeps and crossovers such as the Dodge Journey can be hired from National as well.

All the Tampa International Airport car hire companies expect their primary renters and additional drivers to be over the age of 25, or at least over the age of 21. Younger renters will, however, pay higher rental rates. The drivers of the vehicles will also require a valid drivers license, either Canadian-endorsed or issued in the United States of America, and a major credit card such as American Express, Diner’s Club Int’l, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, PHH, Sears or AT & T Capital. Persons from foreign countries may hire a vehicle as well, but may need additional documentation such as International Driving Permits.

Vehicles are usually hired from National on a twenty-four hour basis, therefore the company will not charge less than a full day’s rental rate. Sometimes vehicles may not be hired for less than 72 hours, and not longer than thirty days. The customer will receive their vehicle with a full tank of fuel, and should return it full when no fuel purchase has been made. Customers who purchased fuel at the start of the rental period may return their vehicle as empty as possible. Vehicles should be delivered in good time as late returns will be subject to an additional day’s rental rate. Upon its return, the vehicle will be checked for damages, and if any are found, the customer may be required to fill out a damage report. A copy of this document may then be taken by the customer for insurance and/or credit card reimbursement procedures. Note that normal wear and tear is expected.

Further details are available from National at Tampa International Airport.

Address:
Tampa Intl Arpt (TPAT01)
4030 George J. Bean Parkway
Tampa, FL 33607-1459
US

Telephone Number:
(888) 826-6890 ext. MAIN
(813) 396-4140 ext. LOCAL

Fax Number: (813) 396-8031