Following our successful roll out of the Avis Home Delivery Service to West London, I am pleased to announce that we have extended the service across North and South London, enabling us to offer Home Delivery throughout the area of London.

We can now deliver hire cars to areas including; Chelsea, Kensington, Chiswick, Ealing, Finchley, Golders Green, Acton, Chingford, Barnet, Marylebone, Islington, Abbeywood, Bethnal Green, Greenwich, Woolwich, Crystal Palace, Stretham, Wimbledon and Penge, to name a few.

Reservations can now be taken for Delivery across London and these can be made via our website www.avis.co.uk/homedelivery, through our central reservations team on 0844 581 8181 or direct at our local Avis branch.

It would be good to hear your views on our Home Delivery Service and the roll-out of the service across London.

At Avis we like to keep car hire easy and simple. So we are excited to introduce our NEW iPhone application which will enable you to book your Avis car rental on the move.

We have based the Avis iPhone application development around speed, simplicity and ease.

Your booking can be made in just 2 minutes and all you need to do is:

• Select your location, dates and vehicle group.
• Enter personal details.
• Accept terms and conditions.
• Then confirm.

This fast and simple booking process has a few time saving functions:

• 3 way location search
• Easy to use date selector
• Google maps function for accurate directions
• Full selection of Avis fleet quick and easy to select
• Pre-saved details (personal details only needed for the first booking)
• Reservation details saved on your phone for easy access
• Dedicated Avis contact detail if you require any support
• Location details including opening times

The application has been made to help improve user experience by making the booking process simpler and faster. So download it today and try it for yourself.

Download the Avis iPhone application
View a step by step booking process

Once you have downloaded the Avis iPhone application we would love to get your feedback.

Summertime is all about getting out and enjoying the countryside, and there’s no better way to do it than on a classic family picnic. And with Avis Rent a Car, you can make sure that no one gets left behind, with estates and people carriers that can fit in everyone and everything you need, from hampers and ice boxes to chairs and cricket sets.

Renting an estate or people carrier from Avis means that the whole family can share in the scenery, history and beauty of Britain. With an extensive fleet of vehicles and so many great picnic spots across the country, from stately homes to spectacular coasts, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Here are our top five suggestions for the perfect picnic, from Edinburgh to Brighton.

1. Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh
For a breathtaking view, without getting too out of breath, head up to Arthur’s Seat, one of the famous seven hills that surround Edinburgh. This is a popular picnic spot, with plenty of sheltered nooks and crannies in which to make camp along the way, and the view from the peak across the city and out along the Firth of Forth is well worth the half hour climb. Find Arthur’s Seat in the heart of Edinburgh.

2. Padley Gorge, Derbyshire
Pretty much anywhere in the spectacular Peak District National Park, to the South East of Manchester, is worth a visit, but Padley Gorge is a particular favourite for picnics. There’s something for everyone in this fairyland location, as the stream winds its way between grassy banks and off into the woods, creating fascinating rock pools and attracting a wealth of wildlife. Find Padley Gorge on the B6251 Grindleford road, just off the A625.

3. Hardcourt Arboretum, Oxford
Hardcourt Arboretum is the perfect place to get back to nature with a private picnic in one of the many clearings dotted among the ten acres of woodland. Let the kids go off safely squirrel spotting, running through the wildflower meadow and playing hide and seek amongst the trees, while you relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. Hardcourt Arboretum lies six miles south of Oxford on the A4074.

4. Avebury Stone Circle
Unlike its better known partner at Stonehenge, Avebury Stone Circle enjoys open access, allowing you to pitch your picnic right in the heart of history. Despite being the largest stone circle in Europe, Avebury also has far fewer visitors, so you can picnic in peace and experience first hand the strange ethereal energy of this fascinating location. Find Avebury Stone Circle around ten miles south of Swindon and the M4 on the A4361.

5. Devil’s Dyke, East Sussex
Our final picnic destination takes us right to the south coast, with stunning views across the South Downs and out over the English Channel. Devil’s Dyke has lots of open space to enjoy, with everything from Iron Age forts to rare and exotic wildlife, and its higher ground is especially good for flying kites. Devil’s Dyke is on the A23 just outside Brighton, within easy reach of London for a day trip.

Avis makes it easy
Whether you’re hiring a car in England or hiring a car in Scotland, with Avis it couldn’t be easier, because we take care of everyone. You can hire baby and child seats to make sure the little ones stay safe, and even add an extra driver to share the miles on longer trips. We’ll even arrange delivery to your door, to take the hassle out of your big day out.

So get out and enjoy the great outdoors of Great Britain this summer. From Scotland to the South Coast, there are hundreds of different picnic places to explore. Why not let us know your favourites – we may even feature them on the Avis blog.

At Avis we are excited to announce that we are adding the NEW Jaguar XJ to our Avis Prestige fleet.

The original Jaguar XJ was a car that epitomised luxury and comfort and those credentials remain unchanged with the new 2010 model. This is Jaguar’s flagship saloon, and the first launch under new owners Tata Motors.

The previous model couldn’t help but start to look dated and the new XJ has undergone a radical change from the original body style, which was little changed for 40 years.

Whilst the new XJ resembles the XF, it’s fabulous to look at and at the forefront of technology with many functions controlled by a touch-screen allowing easy programming of the sat-nav system.

The interior exudes quality with the leather and wood finish and the impressive Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system which pipes your desired tunes through an array of speakers, including three in each door, two on the dashboard, four surround speakers on the parcel shelf, and two subwoofers!

This car is part of the Avis Prestige executive saloon range available for delivery from London, Heathrow and Manchester.

If you have rented this car or plan to we would love to get your feedback.

We’ve been listening to your feedback about offering our Avis Home Delivery service in London and I am really excited to announce we will be rolling out the service to the West London area! We will be open for reservations from 1st July and some of the areas we will be delivering to include West Brompton, Chiswick, Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington and Notting Hill to name a few.

For full information on Home Delivery or to book this service go to www.avis.co.uk/homedelivery (where you can use the postcode search to confirm we deliver to your area) or call our reservations team on 0844 581 8181.

It would be great to hear what you think about our expansion of this service into London.

We are very excited to introduce the new Avis Rent a Car website. If you have visited the Avis website before, the first thing you’ll notice when you land on the car rental homepage, is the new, fresher look with a cleaner top menu to help you navigate your way around the sections of the website. But this is just the start!

The main improvement is without a doubt, the leaner and faster booking process. We’ve reduced the number of steps needed to rent a car to four and refreshed each of the four pages to give you more information, easier navigation and ultimately make your selection easier.

Now all you’ll have to do is:
1) Select your dates/rental station
2) Choose your car group
3) Select your preferred payment option and add any extras you may need (GPS, child seat etc)
4) Enter your details

And in less than 5 minutes your booking is done!

And you’ll now find your personal account sign-in and account summary on every page so you can sign in anytime you like without going back to the homepage .

We would love to hear what you think of the new website, and of course if you have any suggestion on how we can still improve it please let us know.

We’ve all seen those early summer cars – packed to the roof with quilts and cuddly toys, clothes and portable TVs, as parents struggle to get their kids home from university in just one trip. But why squash it all in and stress your suspension, when Avis Car Rental can provide the perfect ride with all the space you need?

The annual migration home from Britain’s universities will be all too familiar to many parents. Trekking halfway across the country in comfort only to have the car filled to bursting with a year’s worth of student stuff, plus your beloved offspring, for the return journey. Not to mention a term’s worth of dirty clothes packed in black bags for Mum to wash!

The toll it takes on your car just doesn’t bear thinking about – extra miles, extra weight, extra fuel – and it’s usually uncomfortable and often frankly dangerous too, as their delightful CD collection all but blocks the view out of the back window. Worst of all, you know full well you’ll only have to do it all again in reverse in a few months time.

Well this year, call Avis and give yourself, and your car, a well earned break. The extensive Avis fleet includes a wide range of estate cars and people carriers specifically designed to carry larger loads in comfort and safety.

Choose a spacious estate or the flexibility of a people carrier. Who knows, you might have enough space to be able to share the ride home with another student and halve the costs for everyone. Check out liftshare.com to see who else is going your way.

Whichever you choose, renting a car from Avis means you’ll get it all done in one trip, with no wear and tear on your own car, or your nerves. And with Avis’s great value rentals and fuel-efficient late model vehicles, that could mean quite a saving.

If, like many students, your child has taken it upon themselves to move as far away as possible to study, (while still expecting you to fetch and carry them of course) it’s well worth adding an extra driver to share the load. An Avis GPS could also be a good value investment to ensure you take the most efficient route and avoid all the traffic jams along the way.

Short of abandoning them to make their own way home, the university run is a summer tradition that can’t be avoided. But with a little planning and the help of the friendly team at Avis Car Rental, it needn’t be such a chore this year.

I am pleased to announce that Avis UK has launched its “Home Delivery” service across the UK. Designed to make the car rental experience more convenient, Avis customers can now request for their rental car to be delivered directly to their home and for it to be collected again at the end of the car hire period.

Avis Home Delivery is ideal for customers that don’t really have the time to pick a hire car up, particularly when they don’t live near a station. It offers them a convenient service and at just £10 each way, it’s great value for money.   This time-saving product is available to UK households across the country* between 08:00 and 18:00, six days a week. 
For more details or to make a reservation visit www.avis.co.uk/homedelivery or call 0844 581 8181.

* Available across the country, with the exception of London

If you live in the city, chances are you don’t need a car all that often. So why waste money buying, taxing, parking and maintaining your own, when Avis Car Rental can provide the perfect vehicle whenever you need it for a fraction of the cost?

Avis car rental makes a lot of sense
With everything on your doorstep in the city, you simply don’t need a car all the time. City centre parking charges alone can be enough to encourage you to catch the bus or take the train. If you live in London, you’ll have the congestion charge to consider too. What’s more, in many city suburbs, local parking permits or garage hire can cost a packet, even if you leave your car at home. Hire a car with Avis and you’ll only pay when you need it, and have none of the hassle when you don’t.

Choose the right car
This can be a problem for the occasional user, with different trips making different demands. Collecting that antiques fair bargain isn’t easy in a sports car, but then a weekend in the country is no fun in a huge estate. By hiring from the extensive fleet at Avis, you can match a car to your plans, rather than always limiting what you do to fit your car. What’s more, you’ll always be driving the latest models with low mileage and in the best possible condition. Avis does all the repairs and servicing and pays all the tax and insurance of its fleet so no worries about reliability and no maintenance costs. Not having to waste part of your weekend car washing and cleaning is also a bonus.

Treating yourself is simple as Avis Prestige has depots in London, Heathrow and Manchester. Why not take the chance to enjoy the high life, driving cars you may never normally afford, from a Mercedes SLK to an exclusive Maserati Quattroporte. Enjoy a weekend away and impress your friends and family by taking the wheel of a top of the range supercar.

Make it easy on yourself
If you don’t own a car, hiring an Avis car is easy with delivery to your door. If you want to pick up, there are branches all over the UK and plenty across the capital, all easily accessed via the London Underground. You can even arrange one way car hire for added flexibility.

Avis makes you feel the car is your own, with all the extras you’d enjoy such as air conditioning. You can hire baby and child seats to make sure everyone stays safe, and even add an extra driver to share the miles on longer trips. Whatever your plans, Avis Car Hire can put the perfect package together for you.

When you consider the advantages of Avis car rental, and the savings you can make by not owning a car that you rarely drive, you can see why more and more people, who live and work in cities across the UK, are turning to car rental.

We are aware that a lot of our customers start their journey with a flight and some of them may be affected by the upcoming BA cabin crew strike. If, due to this strike you need to modify your travel arrangements, here is some information on how to make changes to your car rental booking with Avis.

Note from Avis BA Partnerships Team:

The forthcoming British Airways cabin crew strike, starting tomorrow and taking place on 20, 21, 22 March and 27, 28 , 29, 30 March, may be affecting your car rental requirements. We’d like to take this opportunity to outline your options if you have a car reserved with us over this period.

If you have a pay-later reservation and need to cancel or amend it, please call the BA Partnership Dedicated line at our Call Centre on 0844 581 0124 and one of our agents will make the necessary arrangements for you. The sooner you can cancel or amend your booking the easier will be to find a suitable alternative to your original reservation.

If you have pre-paid for your rental and need to amend or cancel, again please contact our dedicated line at the Call Centre on 0844 581 0124. If you need to request a refund, please send the request along with your Avis reservation number to:

Avis Rent a Car Ltd
Customer Services
Avis House
Park Road
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 2EW
United Kingdom

If you booked your Avis car directly with British Airways either at ba.com or with a BA Call Centre, please contact their Customer Services Duty Office to make any amendments or cancellations:

Telephone: +44 208 707 4461
Email address: duty.office@holidays.britishairways.com

Please contact us as soon as possible with your revised requirements. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these exceptional circumstances.