Parking on the Fly : Burbank Airport’s Year-Old Valet Service Makes a Success of Convenience

Burbank Airport officials believe they have a handle on a problem that frustrates airline travelers almost as much as losing luggage--finding a parking space that is not halfway to Tibet.

A valet parking program that airport officials started a year ago on a trial basis now attracts an average of 300 cars each day, a level that airport officials say exceeds their expectations. At peak travel periods, valet drivers park as many as 800 cars a day.

“It started out as a unique idea, something unheard of at airports, and it has done well,” airport spokeswoman Elly Mixsell said. It is a service that is not offered at Los Angeles International Airport, the third largest airport in the nation.

When valet service was first offered in December, 1990, it attracted only 75 to 100 patrons a day.

But airport officials are now so pleased with the program that they are considering adding a permanent building for valet patrons, including a lounge and snack machines. The valet service is currently run out of two small portable offices. Patrons sit on plastic chairs beneath parasols while waiting for their cars.

“Given the success we’ve had with it, we have to add some facilities,” Airport Director Tom Greer said. The service was designed to give overnight travelers an alternative to using the short-term parking lot meant for people picking up and dropping off passengers. Before valet service was offered, airport officials found that almost half the 500 indoor spots in the structure closest to the terminals were being used by overnight travelers.

“We thought that valet parking would be a good relief valve for that structure,” Mixsell said. “That has worked by and large very well.”

Rates at Burbank’s long-term lot are $13 a day. But for an extra $2, travelers can leave the hassle of airport parking to valet drivers who put the car in an outside lot near the terminal.

Ted Sison, the valet’s lead man whose job is to greet customers and keep an eye on the drivers, said the service also gives travelers that I’m-a-big-shot feeling.

“It makes them feel good,” he said. “We treat them nice.”

While most of the customers are executives on overnight business trips or couples hoping to get lucky in Las Vegas, some of the valet patrons are already big shots.

Among the regulars are former football great Jim Brown, “MacGyver” star Richard Dean Anderson and singer Gladys Knight, Sison said.

Air travelers using the valet service Friday morning gave it mixed reviews.

Ron Halpern, a Los Feliz resident who was returning from Portland, said he is a frequent traveler who sometimes arrives late to the airport and doesn’t have time to hassle with parking.

“Basically, it’s a convenience,” he said as he waited for his car. “If you are late . . . you can pull up, leave the keys and take off.”

“It’s too expensive,” grumbled Ali Poury as he sat under a parasol waiting for a driver to return his car. “But I guess it has to be expensive or else everyone would be able to afford it.”

Poury had just returned from Las Vegas where he said he had lost $8,000 gambling.

Ron May, a Los Angeles resident who flew to Las Vegas for an electronics convention, gave the service a high rating.

“It’s great,” he said. “It’s less expensive than parking at LAX.”

But the jury was still out for Kathryn Bethards, who was returning from an overnight business trip to Las Vegas.

“It’s OK,” she said as she waited for her car. “I don’t know how long it will take to get my car; that will affect my impression.”

It was delivered in about five minutes.