What You Need to Know About Hiring a car From Avis at Abu Dhabi International Airport

I f you're renting a car from Avis at Abu Dhabi International Airport, here's what you should know concerning the process.

After exiting the airplane upon arrival in Abu Dhabi Airport terminal, dealing with passport control and customs – which could take around two hours, so be forewarned – I simply followed the signs for rental cars, which is typically the norm…

…but a bad move when renting from Avis. After i arrived at the rental car counters, I finished up at the Skypark Plaza part of the airport and saw companies such as Europcar, Budget and Hertz – but no Avis.

Even a directory right across in the rental car counters did not acknowledge the presence of Avis.

Perhaps I reserved a rental car from Avis in a different destination? I thought to myself. Did I dream which i rented a car from Avis whatsoever?!? Among the cars which I reserved was a part of this promotion where I could receive 1,000 bonus Hyatt Gold Passport points on vehicle rentals of three days or longer; plus conserve to 25 % around the time and mileage charges of the rental while receiving an upgrade of 1 type of vehicle.

Perplexed as I wondered if I was slipping into a form of dementia of some sort and understanding that Budget and Avis are subsidiaries of the identical company, I asked a real estate agent in the Budget counter about where Avis is situated.

“The Avis counter is only located at Terminal 2. You will have to take a taxi to get to it.”

Take taxis? Within the airport?!?

She then requested which i wait a minute; placed a mobile phone call; informed me that someone from Avis will arrive shortly; and told me to hold back in a seat opposite the car rental counters. After I thanked her, a man waiting in line said that he'd a similar experience.

Between five and 10 mins later, a man turns up having a worn placard with two names Body of them mine. “Are you the person using the Avis rental?” he asked.

After acknowledging in the affirmative, he brought me to a running car, packed my belongings in the hatchback, and I had been driven to the Avis rental facility.

I was told which i was to have looked for someone holding a placard with my name onto it upon exiting the secure part of the airport. I have never had to do that in all of the years in which I've been renting cars around the globe; but apparently there's a very first time for everything.

The driver from the car brought me to this building in some dark part of the airport known as Abu Dhabi Aviation – it was nighttime – which was found at the southeastern area of the airport past Terminal 2; and that i was informed to come back the car only at that building and never follow the signs in the airport for where car rentals are supposed to be returned. I followed the man into this desolate and dimly-lit building.

Although I handed the agent behind the counter my charge card which contained a chip, he wanted a credit card with embossed numbers in the event of an urgent situation. I didn't understand that at all; but fortunately I'd the one that met that criterion.

After photocopying my driver's license, passport and both charge cards – he actually took a pencil and shaded certificates with my charge card with the embossed numbers underneath as part of the process, which stunned me – he finally handed me my documents for that rental of the car; and I followed another man towards the car which brought me for this facility, as that was to become my car rental. He checked for dents and scratches having a bright lantern flashlight, that I acknowledged before finally overtaking the vehicle they are driving.

If I experienced a more bizarre tactic to renting a car in my travels, I possibly could not consider it at the moment.