Anyone heard of Firefly Car rental?

waltmick

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 6, 2003
I was just checking prices on a minivan for the end of October on Orbitz, and they offered me a price for Firefly Car Rental which was about $65 less than all the others. I've never heard of Firefly, so I googled it and it looks like they mainly operate in Europe. Anyone know about them? It says they are in terminal, so no shuttle. My best price for Oct 26-30 was from Dollar/Thrifty for $225. Firefly is $158.00.

Thanks, Bob
 
When Hertz acquired Thrifty last year, it was required to divest its Advantage brand in the U.S. Earlier this year Hertz rebranded its foreign Advantage locations as Firefly, and Hertz apparently is now bringing Firefly to the U.S. as its new discount brand. Firefly's own website is up and running at http://www.fireflycarrental.com. Its first day of business isn't stated, but based on some test searches, it will be September 15.
 


Nu isn't itself a car rental company but, based on its own description, a "consortia of the world's leading independent car rental companies." In Orlando, it seems to be affiliated with Action Car Rental. See http://www.nucarrentals.com/contact.htm.


Found it strange to see as an option when looking for a car rental on orbitz.com. I had never seen them listed before until just the other day.

Wonder why?
 
When Hertz acquired Thrifty last year, it was required to divest its Advantage brand in the U.S. Earlier this year Hertz rebranded its foreign Advantage locations as Firefly, and Hertz apparently is now bringing Firefly to the U.S. as its new discount brand. Firefly's own website is up and running at http://www.fireflycarrental.com. Its first day of business isn't stated, but based on some test searches, it will be September 15.

Now I am curious. In order to acquire Dollar/Thrifty, Hertz had to sell Advantage, which apparently they did, since they are off the airport and advertise independently as Advantage. To date they have not rebraded to Firefly. Firefly does however seem to go under the Hertz umbrella and show their location as MCO. My curious question is how can Hertz get away with this an not be in an "anti trust" situationwhich it is not actually at the airport). ?
I don't question anything you said, btw, I am just curious.
 


Curious as well since these are way cheaper than what I can find anywhere else! Anyone have any insite!?!
 
Hertz offered deeply discounted promotional rates shortly after they bought Advantage. Offering such rates is a good way to kick start a new company.

gmeh1--DOJ had Hertz divest Advantage as a condition of allowing the acquisition of Dollar/Thrifty.

That's done, the acquisition was approved and closed. It's probably hard, after the fact, to tell Hertz they can't introduce an additional brand. AFAIK this isn't a new company bought by Hertz.

Think of all the cars Hertz owns. This could be a way to get another year of use out of them.
 
gmeh1--DOJ had Hertz divest Advantage as a condition of allowing the acquisition of Dollar/Thrifty.

That's done, the acquisition was approved and closed. It's probably hard, after the fact, to tell Hertz they can't introduce an additional brand. AFAIK this isn't a new company bought by Hertz.

To add to that - the general terms of the settlement that Hertz entered into with the FTC are available online (see http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/1010137/130711hertzdo.pdf). Hertz was required to sell off its Advantage locations in the U.S. (along with some other conditions), but the agreement did not prohibit Hertz from establishing a new discount brand in the U.S. to replace Advantage.

Also, some digging through business records (from http://www.sunbiz.org), finds that Firefly Rent A Car LLC was established by Hertz and registered in Florida on March 13, 2013, so the preparatory work for its launch already must have been under way for some time.

It's actually a bit surprising that the news about Firefly's U.S. launch seems to have been broken here - as the OP noted, a Google search seems to only find mentions of its foreign locations, or now this discussion thread.
 
I just booked them for Feb. since they have a good rate. I'm thinking I may change anyway if Alamo comes out with something better when the trip gets closer.
 
So I looked at Firefly for my Oct 13 trip as well, as Ive never heard of them. I just called them directly and it was Hertz Customer service. I asked if they were in terminal and she said yes Firefly is in terminal. SO I was confused about why Hertz was answering the phone (as she said it was her first Firefly question)..I said is it like a parent company and she said no that they were just renting thier cars for them. I have a reservation for Dollar right now for $193 for Oct 13-17...firefly is half the price. Not sure if its worth it or not. I have read awful reviews for ultra cheap rental places (ez rental, fox and payless)..Im just wondering if Firefly is too good to be true.
 
I just took the chance and booked since I got a midside that was about 300 bucks less than what I was getting at any other rate for April 2014. When I received my confirmation email it showed Hertz! :cool1:
 
I did too. The email is from Hertz. I'll try them. Rental car rates have been crazy! The confirmation states it's located in the airport. We'll see. I wish Alamo would resolve their website issues. I'm tired of having to constantly clear cookies after each search.
 
I did too. The email is from Hertz. I'll try them. Rental car rates have been crazy! The confirmation states it's located in the airport. We'll see. I wish Alamo would resolve their website issues. I'm tired of having to constantly clear cookies after each search.

Agreed I haven't see much in the rates coming down and I'm an Enterprise nut. I'll give them a shot. So I wonder is there a Kiosk in the Airport or do we report to Hertz?!?
 
I guess time will tell. Here is the info from the confirmation.

Orlando International Airport
9301 Jeff Fuqua Boulevard
Orlando, FL, US 32827

Pick Up Phone Number : 8007775500
Pick Up Hours : 0500-0200 7 DAYS
When I called they said they have not opened yet but will be onsite.
 
I guess time will tell. Here is the info from the confirmation.

Orlando International Airport
9301 Jeff Fuqua Boulevard
Orlando, FL, US 32827

Pick Up Phone Number : 8007775500
Pick Up Hours : 0500-0200 7 DAYS
When I called they said they have not opened yet but will be onsite.

Interesting..hope they are open by April when I booked through them! lol
 
Hertz said they will be onsite. Close to Hertz. I guess we will see in September. Just glad to see a decent rate.
 
I guess time will tell. Here is the info from the confirmation.

Orlando International Airport
9301 Jeff Fuqua Boulevard
Orlando, FL, US 32827

Pick Up Phone Number : 8007775500
Pick Up Hours : 0500-0200 7 DAYS
When I called they said they have not opened yet but will be onsite.

Why do they have a pick up phone# if they are onsite, couldn't you just walk to the desk when you arrive?
 
Just checked rates for a full size from 12/29 - 01/04. Total rate including taxes and fees are $156.10!


Lowest rate for any reputable company is $443. Since they are backed by Hertz, it's worth a try.
 

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