Whenever you are planning a trip by a plane whether it is for a summer vacation or a weekend getaway with your friends or family it is always good to prepare yourself and do your research on the categories of airport parking and the benefits they all offer. Since airport lot is the last thing on your mind when organizing your trip, this is a short guide to understand the categories and help you choose the best one for you. At almost every bigger airport there are three main types of airport parking: self-parking, meet and greet and business seatlin.
Self-parking is a where you park your car yourself and keep your car keys with you. When you return from the trip. You just go to your car and drive off. This service is available on all short term and mid-term parking areas located on or off airport.
In a vast self-parking area, the transport from your parking place to the terminal is organized by a free bus that stops on several predesignated bus stops. After your trip, you follow the reverse order to get to your car. There is also a so called semi self which means that you drive your car to a central reception place where your car is taken over and you go on a bus to the terminal and vice versa. This is often the case for long term places areas located off the airport.
Meet and greet parking, offer related to as valet parking is a type of parking where you leave your car to a parking employee at a pre-designated area, usually at the pick up or drop off area of the terminal. Then the driver drives your car to a parking that is usually located off the parking.
Although this is usually the most expensive type of parking, it is the most convenient one for you because it does not involve carrying your stuff around a vast area and loading and unloading your baggage to a shuttle bus. Also, there is another benefit to valet service, which is that the companies are insured and have secured parking areas, so you will be leaving your car in safe hand and that will make your vacation worry free. Business option can be related to business class travel in terms of the extra service you will get. The extra features you get are different from operator to operator, but generally you get a short distance from the starting point to the terminal which means shorter transfer time.
Sometimes the business offers a direct line to the terminal via a monorail or self-driving electric pods that follow their own track to the terminal.