Pay to play in Aussie airport parking lots

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For the past decade, Australians have griped about the escalating cost of short-term airport parking. Accusations of monopoly pricing were leveled, and a year ago, the government got involved, having the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) keep an eye on parking lot fees at the country’s five largest airports. The results are amazing.

Airports pull in 11 percent of their revenue from parking. In Melbourne, it’s a whopping 21 percent, while Sydney‘s airport pulls in a more modest 7 percent of its financial take from the parking lots. Since no government agency is willing to put its head on the chopping block the ACCC would only say that this is “consistent with airports having a monopoly position.”

Of course, there are perks to paying. People parking at the Melbourne airport were the most satisfied customers, with those frequenting Sydney’s lots at the bottom.

But, convenience always wins.

The Sydney airport is only 10 kilometers (a little more than 6 miles) from the city, and only 13 percent of passengers use the airport’s parking lots. Melbourne’s airport is more than twice as far away, making airport parking more sensible.

It’s a cruel world – departing Continental Airlines CFO gets free airport parking for life

by Scott Carmichael on

The airlines giveth, and the airlines taketh away. This has never been more true than in recent years. From pretzels and pillows to in-flight movies, we have all been robbed of the few things that made flying bearable.

But none of this applies to the airline executives that helped create the current situation. Most retiring executives leave the airline with hefty retirement packages, often including free flights and free medial care for life.

Departing Continental CFO Jeffrey Misner is clearly more creative than any of his colleagues. As part of his retirement package, he has secured a lifetime free executive parking spot at Jacksonville airport “in a lot that is the same or similar to the lot available to airport-management personnel”.

He’s also taking a cool $3 Million in unrestricted Continental stock with him, which is ironic since that is the same amount of money CO lost in their second quarter.

It’s all spelled out in his retirement agreement posted online by the SEC. None of the other juicy details were described, but one can expect a pretty healthy chunk of our ticket money to head his way for years to come.

Misner joined Continental in 1995 and became their CFO in 2004. During his tenure, shares of the airline rose to the upper $40’s in 2006, only to plummet back into the single digits in 2008.

So, next time you spend $26 a day for parking at the airport and another $20 for a snack on the flight, think of poor retired Jeffey Misner.

Source: Footnoted.org

Airport Parking Site

by Adrienne Wilson on

If you happen to be one of the few that has extra time to check out one last thing before heading off to the airport, perhaps you’d like to look into the airport parking low-down. I can tell you now, this probably isn’t a site for me only because I don’t drive to the airport too often and leave my car and after three-times checking for all my toiletries, underwear, and weather conditions in my final destination I don’t need another thing to check before checking in! Someone out there completely opposite of me needs this, I know and for that reason I pass onto you my discovery as found on Geeky Traveller.

About Airport Parking dot com lets both business and vacation travelers check the status of airport parking in over 400 American airports before driving out. When you first click onto the site you’ll notice a list of the country’s more popular airports with the current airport status. Click on the tab marked find parking and it will take you to a list of parking facilities located around the airport and includes the day rate. Click further to get a Google map to help you to the destination before the destination prior to your final destination. It’s just that easy, should you have the time.