Asheville?

I’ve used and inquired about rental cars at GKT several times and don’t recall the rates being as high as you’re quoted. I must always go in the off season as the summer traffic is a turn off. Also, corporate rates are always better, so check any and all discount codes for associations you belong to. Bringing cars from their rental location to the FBO is something they do all the time. Make sure you are asking the FBO directly when inquiring about the cars.

I’d skip the Asheville drive and save that for another non-kid trip like you suggested. There is plenty to keep you busy in and around GKT as the write ups will tell. If you can get that rental car.
 
Asheville airport is an easy in and out if you watch the winds over the mountains. I had the fun of mountain waves on my departure there last year. Signature wasn't too bad on the fees (don't remember what they were but it wasn't drastic).

Signature has a rental car counter in the FBO and will work with the rental counters in the airport to have your car at the FBO and return it for you.

I will say that the town is more based for the adults in us versus kids but the BRP and the hiking is awesome. We go a couple of times a year and really enjoy the town and the art.
 
Salty said:
Just curious what about Asheville is legendary? That's news to me.
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Me too - and I used to live there. I suppose that the Biltmore and/or the Grove Park Inn are a draw for some - but not so much for folks who live and work there.
I will say that it is a good place to live - but if I were to go back I would choose one of the smaller towns nearby - like Hendersonville or Brevard. Just my .02.

Dave
 
Morgan3820 said:
Asheville = Hippie theme park
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Good description.

I will say this though, it's been a few years since I've been, but 12 Bones Smokehouse near the airport is one of the best BBQ joints I've been to. I know it got a lot of hype a few years ago based on a former President stopping in for ribs on multiple occasions, but regardless of my opinion of his policies, I share his taste in ribs apparently.
 
Brad Z said:
Good description.

I will say this though, it's been a few years since I've been, but 12 Bones Smokehouse near the airport is one of the best BBQ joints I've been to. I know it got a lot of hype a few years ago based on a former President stopping in for ribs on multiple occasions, but regardless of my opinion of his policies, I share his taste in ribs apparently.
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The nice thing is that as BBQ becomes more popular, it is easier to find good examples, closer to home. A great BBQ place just opened in a little town nearby, but it is only open Fri, Sat.
 
Jim K said:
Argh. Rental cars.

Enterprise website weekly price: $500
Enterprise FBO reservation price: $1000

$500 to drive the car 2 miles and park it at the FBO. When I started flying places, you could use the Enterprise fbo website to book and price was the same as the regular site or very close. Guess we're going to have to wait until the local branch opens on Monday or go through Turo again.
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One thing I've been doing lately and it always worked is, I book on the rental car website as if I was picking up the car at the terminal, then I call the FBO and tell them I have a reservation with company XYZ, asking if they can get the car delivered to the FBO. So far the FBO always managed to get the car delivered and I never paid the extra charge for FBO pick up.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
One thing I've been doing lately and it always worked is, I book on the rental car website as if I was picking up the car at the terminal, then I call the FBO and tell them I have a reservation with company XYZ, asking if they can get the car delivered to the FBO. So far the FBO always managed to get the car delivered and I never paid the extra charge for FBO pick up.
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This is one of the reasons to choose a larger airport for a trip. Even without trying for the terminal price, many higher end FBOs have great rates when there are lots of choices.

On my recent trip to NY and Western Mass, I had a surprise. I have a corporate account with National and it is always the best rate when I compare prices. Not this time. Atlantic at KBDL uses Go Rentals. They are a rental provider that caters to the jet set but they beat my National price for a basic car. Even with high fuel cost and big airport fees, the daily car rental difference from "Enterprise Aviation" at a smaller airport was big enough to make my net out-of-pocket lower.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
One thing I've been doing lately and it always worked is, I book on the rental car website as if I was picking up the car at the terminal, then I call the FBO and tell them I have a reservation with company XYZ, asking if they can get the car delivered to the FBO. So far the FBO always managed to get the car delivered and I never paid the extra charge for FBO pick up.
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I asked both the fbo and a person in the local enterprise office, and they both said no. When we went to corpus christie, the gal at the airport arranged the rental at the local office, and even drove it out on the ramp to meet us. I don't think I've ever had the same experience twice.
 
If you are still referring to GKT, their relationship with Enterprise must have ‘gone south’.

One of the roadblocks of enjoying a GA trip to different smaller cities is the lack of available or consistent options for ground transportation.
 
Rental cars these days are CRAZY.

I have need of a minivan for 4 days in late September. Rental is $1000, yes THOUSAND.
 
Pinecone said:
Rental cars these days are CRAZY.

I have need of a minivan for 4 days in late September. Rental is $1000, yes THOUSAND.
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We're planning an Alaska trip in September. The cheapest car I found was $2,000 for 10 days. Because that's ridiculous and I'm frugal, I looked elsewhere and found Turo. On Turo I found a better car for less than half what the car rental companies wanted.
 
Jim K said:
I asked both the fbo and a person in the local enterprise office, and they both said no. When we went to corpus christie, the gal at the airport arranged the rental at the local office, and even drove it out on the ramp to meet us. I don't think I've ever had the same experience twice.
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They do the same in Winnipeg. Car always parked on the ramp and they guide you to park the plane right besides it. Incredible service and never had to pay extra for the rental car, compared to the terminal rate.
 
Jim K said:
I asked both the fbo and a person in the local enterprise office, and they both said no. When we went to corpus christie, the gal at the airport arranged the rental at the local office, and even drove it out on the ramp to meet us. I don't think I've ever had the same experience twice.
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Jim, what did you end up doing about a rental car? Looking at possibly taking my family into GKT this weekend and this would be a go/no go item.
 
Banjo33 said:
Jim, what did you end up doing about a rental car? Looking at possibly taking my family into GKT this weekend and this would be a go/no go item.
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So I just spent the money. I think I mentioned above that they did adjust it down a bit. Two things I'd suggest; reserve through enterprise fbo phone number, and make sure they aren't quoting you a price with all the insurance and crap (unless you want their insurance, I guess). That's why the price was so much higher through the fbo line than the website, on the web you see the price without the extra insurance, whereas the fbo phone number automatically added it. The price would've been almost the same without that.

Otherwise, the service at gkt was excellent. I had called ahead to let them know I was coming, and they called me over ctaf when I landed and brought the car out to the plane when I parked.

They have chains attached to cables there for tiedowns. They just put the s-hooks through the tie down rings, which I'm not a fan of, so I redid it after they left. The chain links wouldn’t slip through each other, so I wound up using my carribeaners. Others may not be as anal about tying down as I am though.... just thought I'd mention it as it was different than most places I've been.
 
Jim K said:
So I just spent the money. I think I mentioned above that they did adjust it down a bit. Two things I'd suggest; reserve through enterprise fbo phone number, and make sure they aren't quoting you a price with all the insurance and crap (unless you want their insurance, I guess). That's why the price was so much higher through the fbo line than the website, on the web you see the price without the extra insurance, whereas the fbo phone number automatically added it. The price would've been almost the same without that.

Otherwise, the service at gkt was excellent. I had called ahead to let them know I was coming, and they called me over ctaf when I landed and brought the car out to the plane when I parked.

They have chains attached to cables there for tiedowns. They just put the s-hooks through the tie down rings, which I'm not a fan of, so I redid it after they left. The chain links wouldn’t slip through each other, so I wound up using my carribeaners. Others may not be as anal about tying down as I am though.... just thought I'd mention it as it was different than most places I've been.
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That worked great, thanks Jim. I’d forgotten all about the FBO-specific site.
 
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