I’ve been looking at the reports that show our busiest locations in Europe and thought we should run a series of posts on the ones you use most – where to find our offices there, and any other tips we can give you. In New Zealand I travelled through several airports, and noticed they all have different layouts, which means finding your way around can be difficult. So I’m starting with Heathrow, one of our most popular offices.
Picking up from Heathrow
Heathrow Airport has four terminals, with Terminal 5 opening in 2008, and we have rental desks in each one. The main car hire centre, where you go to collect your vehicle, is based on the edge of the airport, a short courtesy bus ride away.
Your booking details are held on our central computer, so if you’ve made a reservation we’ll have everything to hand whichever terminal you come to. The staff at the terminal rental desks will process your paperwork and tell you the exact location of your car at the main car hire centre. For more about what to bring, see my post on ‘The perfect car pick-up’.
Avis at Heathrow gets very busy, as you’d expect, so if there’s a queue you can opt to go straight to the buses and our staff at the car hire centre will process your paperwork there.
The courtesy buses take between five and 10 minutes. They leave from outside the terminals and there are signs to show you where to catch them, but if in doubt, the staff at the Avis desk can point you in the right direction. We can also help wheelchair users.
Returning your car to Heathrow
All cars come back to the main car hire centre, which is well signposted – click here for map and directions. Our Rapid Return agents check over the car and give you a receipt, after which we guarantee there’ll be no further charges. The courtesy buses will then take you to the terminal you need for your flight.
For more tips on returning your car, see Eibhlin’s post on the subject.
If you have any insights of your own on renting at Heathrow or finding your way around, please share them with other travellers by posting a comment. And if there are any locations you’d like us to cover in future, tell us about them here too.
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I believe Avis must be a good company to use, but I have using [a competitor] for a long time at Heathrow and they appear to me to be the best.
Some rental companies have a min age of 23 as well..so be careful..you also need a credit card, and an international drivers license.. it’s not a myth. you can be heavily fined here. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t get a car here.. the bus and train service is excellent here and it’s really cheap.