Towncar Drivers May Be Banned From Baggage Claim

[Lewisc]

According to an article in the Orlando Sentinal MCO is considering making the town car drivers meet their customers on level one and not at baggage claim.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-express2205nov22,0,63246.story

Beth Kassab | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 22, 2005
After months of bickering over a free Disney airport shuttle, drivers of competing shuttles and luxury cars joined Disney-contracted Mears Transportation Group on Monday to fight proposed changes to how they all do business.

Orlando International Airport officials are considering an overhaul of how travelers find and meet up with transportation companies by banning the companies from the airport's baggage claim and installing an information kiosk instead.

According to another article Disney DME greeters have already been banned from level two (baggage claim) and have to be on level one.

The cynic in me wonders if this is retaliation against the drivers for making a big issue over the Disney greeters being on allowed on level three.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I wonder how that would work. One of the things I like about the towncar services is they meet you at luggage clam and help you get all your luggage (as a parent with 2 young kids that really helps.)

 

[nicmicnut]

The following message was posted on www.teamrodent.org
--------------------------------------------------------
By the looks of what happened in the public forum it looks like the "Meet and Greet" areas will remain on the baggage claim floor. The convention and hotel representatives came in and spoke out to keep it on the 2nd floor. There was not one speaker who wanted to see it moved. All the speakers stressed that OIA is a top flight passenger friendly airport and it would not do to make such a move. The public forum was okay but we lost another chance to speak out against the regional shuttle program and the enforcement of regulations.
The good thing is that it looks like Disney has suffered another defeat. The bad thing is that the airport gets another chance to stall off talking about the enforcement of the other regulations. How unfortunate.

 

[AllyBri]

teamrodent=

 

[nicmicnut]

Read the www.teamrodent.org blog, message board, and feedback sections. Laws, rules, and regulations can not be broken, it's as simple as that.

 

[Lewisc]

Read the www.teamrodent.org blog, message board, and feedback sections. Laws, rules, and regulations can not be broken, it's as simple as that.

I'm sure some of the Disney greeters were skirting the no-solicitation rules. I'm sure there are many "gypsy" limo drivers who are doing the same.

From posts on other boards it seems Disney was interpreting the advance reservation rule for DME to allow DME to transport any guest who had an advance hotel reservation. This is the same language that allows the airport shuttle hotels to pick us up without requiring a specific reservation for the shuttle bus.

For the most part other transporation companies can't compete with free. The real issue isn't the few customers that Disney may be transporting without an advance reservation. Those aren't even potential (legal) towncar customers but rather potential taxi customers.

THAT SAID moving the meet and greet to level one makes no sense. One of the purposes of taking a towncar is to allow the driver to help you with your luggage.

 

[nicmicnut]

Second public forum, an update from www.teamrodent.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Second Public Forum0Posted by Ed in General (Wednesday November 30, 2005 at 10:30 pm)

The forum ended today with the board announcing they are putting together a “meet and Greet” plan for the 2nd floor. They have separated the “meet and greets” into two separate categories; individual and group.
The larger groups will probably be concentrated on the first floor with the individuals meeting their passengers on the 2nd floor. This is just in the planning so another meeting will be held on December 7th, at 1400 in the old board room on the 2nd floor to work on a plan to be submitted to the airport board. What they have got put together looks pretty good. There are a couple of little glicks. One is they are allowing the Disney/Mears greeters to stay on the 2nd floor to solicit the possible Disney riders.
Talking to the board members they realize the the Disney/Mears greeters are soliciting everything that walks close to them. Transportation companies and drivers need to question this particular aspect of the new regulation that is coming out.
It should be brought up that the Disney/Mears coalition is a concession and do rent space in the terminal. If the airport allows Disney/Mears to have greeters on the 2nd floor than that would also allow the rental car companies, Beeline and Mears shuttle to put greeters on the 2nd floor waiting to greet their customers. This would crowd up the “meet and greet” area tremendously. At present time these companies do not utilize the “meet and greets” on the 2nd floor but if they see Disney doing it I am sure they will say something.
By the way Disney/Mears passengers are not a group. They come into the airport individually as families.

 

[bicker]

I wonder how that would work. One of the things I like about the towncar services is they meet you at luggage clam and help you get all your luggage (as a parent with 2 young kids that really helps.)

This has been the case in Boston for years. It hurts the service, truly.

 

[vfb2girls]

So let me see if I understand all of this, we have booked a towncar service for our upcoming trip to Orlando and now we will not be greeted at the baggage claim? So we would have to grab our own luggage and luggged it to wherever our driver is suppose to greet us? One of the nicer things about meet and greet service was having the driver right there by the baggage claim and helping with the luggage. Well please keep us informed since if this does take affect then I will rethink the whole transportation thing.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Just to add to what vfb2girls asked ... would an arriving passenger be able to meet their town car driver on level 1 and then return to baggage claim with the driver to assist with the bags?

If no, then this change will benefit two groups. First, the skycaps, because someone like DisneyPhD, single parent travelling with two kids, would need help getting the bags from level 2 to level 1. Second, Disney's Magical Express service, because the fact that Disney will retrieve your bags for you when the town car drivers can't makes DME that much more attractive.

The only thing the town car companies are going to get from this will be grief from passengers who were expecting to be met at baggage claim and assisted with their bags but weren't aware of the change.

 

[seashoreCM]

Can you book towncars on a walk up basis?

There is a difference between towncar drivers meet and greet, and Mears/Disney meet and greet. Towncar drivers (not soliciting walk ups) are looking for a single person or party each while Mears/Disney greeters are sending large numbers of passengers to a centralized location.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[bdklein]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-airport0105dec01,0,1387715.story

 

[DisneyPhD]

Can you book towncars on a walk up basis?

There is a difference between towncar drivers meet and greet, and Mears/Disney meet and greet. Towncar drivers (not soliciting walk ups) are looking for a single person or party each while Mears/Disney greeters are sending large numbers of passengers to a centralized location.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

That is what I was thinking. It is already set up and planned. While DME can take your baggage with out you picking it up, they can't take you to the store for food (very important to us.) Also I belive only partisipating airlines do the luggage pick up. Last time I checked non of the ones flying from DTW are partispating. (May this has changed, but it was the case last year when it started.) You can take the ride from DME, but have to transport your luggage yourself.

I wonder if the whole DME thing has cut down on the back log at the carrosel because not as much is on it?

 

[Lewisc]

Can you book towncars on a walk up basis?

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

AFAIK the only drivers who can legally transport a passenger without an advance reservation are taxi drivers. I guess you could call a towncar company and if they have an extra driver at the airport they might be able to book you.

I don't think drivers without a reservation are supposed to be soliciting business. It must be tempting for a driver that has an airport drop off to try to solicit a ride if they're on their way back to WDW for another pickup.

 

[Lewisc]

ANY passenger flying into MCO can use the DME bar coded luggage tags and have their luggage sent directly to their hotel room. Participating airlines allow you to check your luggage at your resort for your return.

Some passengers prefer the personal service of a towncar. You can pay to get your groceries delivered for less than the price of a towncar.

That is what I was thinking. It is already set up and planned. While DME can take your baggage with out you picking it up, they can't take you to the store for food (very important to us.) Also I belive only partisipating airlines do the luggage pick up. Last time I checked non of the ones flying from DTW are partispating. (May this has changed, but it was the case last year when it started.) You can take the ride from DME, but have to transport your luggage yourself.

I wonder if the whole DME thing has cut down on the back log at the carrosel because not as much is on it?

 

[vfb2girls]

So from reading that article then we should have no problem having our towncar driver meet us at the baggage claim? I would love to have taken ME but with the three way travel between Disney and Universal resorts it was just easier to book a towncar service.

 

[Lewisc]

So from reading that article then we should have no problem having our towncar driver meet us at the baggage claim? I would love to have taken ME but with the three way travel between Disney and Universal resorts it was just easier to book a towncar service.

NO problem unless the airport changes its mind.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Bumping this up since I had to do some editing on this thread.

I read the article and that sounds like good news for the town car customers that nothing will change regarding the drivers meeting them at baggage claim.