With more travelers taking to the skies, it's becoming harder to find a parking spot at the airport.
Long-term parking at San Francisco International Airport filled up 70 days last year. Parking lots at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York overflowed on Christmas Day. And because of the limited number of long-term spaces at La Guardia Airport (just 918), spots are practically gone every day by 9 a.m.
And it's not just along the coasts. The parking lots at Dallas Fort Worth International had 2.84 million vehicles in the year that ended Sept. 30, up about 5 percent from the previous year. Phoenix Sky Harbor International had a 3 percent increase, to an estimated 4.34 million parked cars last year. And the long-term spaces at Pittsburgh International were filled about 20 percent of the time.
When lots fill up, travelers can spend precious moments circling for parking, possibly missing their flights. Paula Martin, a certified public accountant from Sandy Springs, Ga., learned this the hard way last summer. After being turned away from the parking lot she normally uses near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, she spent 30 minutes driving around in search of a spot -- time she had planned to use checking in and getting through security checkpoints. In the end she made the flight, but just barely. "I was very close to missing my flight and very stressed out because of it," Martin said.
The parking crunch isn't just affecting travelers catching a flight. It's a problem for the people picking them up, too. At Phoenix, for example, the garage for Terminal 4, which serves more than 75 percent of the airport's passengers, is often crowded by midday, especially on Wednesdays. When it does fill up, drivers are forced to park in remote lots and take buses back to the terminal to meet arriving passengers.
But with some simple planning, it's possible to beat the system. One method gaining popularity is to reserve a spot online. Services such as Park 'N Fly Network (parknflynetwork.com) and Air portParkingReservations.com allow travelers to search for and reserve a parking spot at so-called off-airport lots by plugging in their departure airport and travel dates. Park 'N Fly Network, based in Atlanta, takes reservations for parking space near 67 airports in its network ranging from self-parking with bus shuttles to valet parking with amenities such as car washes and oil changes. AirportParkingReservations, based in Madison, Conn., offers reservations for spots near 200 airports, which it plots on a Google map to give users a sense of how far they are from the terminals.
In addition to peace of mind, these online services can save money over airport parking lots. For example, the cheapest lots at Hartsfield in Atlanta cost $9 a day. Park 'N Fly Network has parking as low as $7 a day. The trade-off, of course, is the distance to the terminal. Air Park Parking (air parkparking.com) recommends, for example, that drivers parking near La Guardia add 15 minutes to their travel times. But some off-airport sites offer perks to make up for the added time. Besides offering shuttle service every three to five minutes at some airports, Park 'N Fly, a chain of 18 facilities, has taken to handing out disposable booties for passengers to wear when they take off their shoes at security checkpoints.
Not to be outdone, airports are working on their own improvements to ease parking congestion. Kennedy is planning to build a 1,500-space garage across from the new JetBlue terminal in time for summer travel. Construction for a 5,000-vehicle parking ramp is under way at Minneapolis-St. Paul International, bringing its total to 22,000.
In addition, more airports are creating free cell phone waiting lots to help alleviate traffic generated by passenger pickups. Instead of circling the terminal, drivers can wait at these designated lots until their arriving party calls.
Airport hotels are starting to get in on the act, too, by offering packages with parking and shuttle service included. The Hyatt Regency at O'Hare International in Chicago, for example, is offering parking for up to 10 nights with a one-night stay. And ParkSleepFly .com offers parking and hotel packages at airport hotels in the United States, Europe and Canada; its cruise port feature specializes in deals for popular cruise departure cities in the United States, as well as Toronto.
Wherever you decide to park, keep in mind that peak parking periods correspond to air traffic patterns. Lots are filled quickly on holidays, like the coming Presidents' Day weekend. Spots are also hard to find midweek, when lots fill up with business travelers. Park 'N Fly Network recommends securing a spot three to four weeks ahead of time for peak travel periods. During the recent holiday period, for example, all its parking spots were taken by mid-December at Kennedy, Phoenix, Miami International and Orlando International.