New Valet Service At BWI Aims To Ease The Traveling Process

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Flying can be stressful. There's the packing, leaving enough time to get to the airport, security lines and making your flight on time.

A new valet service officially opened Friday at BWI Marshall Airport. This has been 25 years in the making, but they could never quite figure out the logistics, then they realized they had plenty of space in the hourly garage.

The new Fly Away valet service is located on level 5 of the BWI Marshall Airport Hourly Garage, which is connected directly to the airport terminal.

"It was our desire to offer curbside valet," said BWI Executive Director Ricky Smith. "We have a dedicated lane that just brings you right into the garage--the 5th floor, which is one of the more convenient floors in the garage."

If you want to park just steps away from the terminal in the hourly garage, plan on spending $22 a day, but if you want to valet your car, well, then you'll spend $30 a day, but some say it's worth it.

[REPORTER: "Why did you choose valet?]

"We're three seniors, we're going to split the cost. Who cares? We're on holiday, we're going on a cruise," said Ann Gordon of Taneytown.

A cruise with a lot of luggage. Luggage the ladies don't want to lift.

"We don't have to lift the heavy bags," said Patty Kuhayda of Taneytown.

Research at other airports with valet shows that it is people like the elderly ladies with a lot of luggage, business travelers and those concerned about safety, who use the service.

And those who are late. Really late.

"They may be someone who can't really afford valet parking but they're desperate to make their flight," Smith said.

In which case, valet will be much cheaper than the fees to re-book or miss a flight all together.

The airport has discount coupons available through the end of this month. 

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