The $1.1 billion consolidated rental car facility for Los Angeles International Airport fully opened this month, housing the operations for 12 rental car brands that pick up passengers in the LAX central terminal area.
The massive 6.4-million square-foot facility sits at the eastern end of the yet to open SkyLink people mover line next to the 405 Freeway. It’s designed to consolidate the rental car brand operations that until now were scattered throughout Westchester and El Segundo.
Construction on the car rental facility began in 2019, with the major exterior work completed in early 2023 by a team led by main contractor PCL Construction of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. Work on connecting roadways surrounding the facility wrapped up in early 2024.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, the individual rental car operators each built out their own spaces within the bigger structure.
According to the announcement earlier this month from Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that operates LAX, the first three car rental brands operating under the Avis Rent-A-Car System banner – Avis, Budget Rent-A-Car and Payless Car Rental – began operating last October.
The other nine rental car brands that moved in this month are:
• Alamo Rent-A-Car
• Dollar Car Rental
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Fox Rent-A-Car
• HertzÂ
• National Car Rental
• SixtÂ
• Thrifty Car RentalÂ
• Zipcar
In a statement Fox Rent-A-Car said that the partnership with LAX “marks a new era for how our customers experience car rental – one that is faster, more convenient, and more enjoyable from the moment they land.”
People mover start date
While the car rental companies have all moved in and begun operations, one huge benefit is still waiting: connection to the SkyLink people mover. That project, which was originally scheduled to open in 2023, has faced repeated delays. The latest projection from Los Angeles World Airports is for an opening date later this year, likely after the FIFA World Cup which kicks off in June.
When the Skylink people mover project opens, it will transport passengers to the consolidated rental car facility in an estimated 10 minutes, rendering obsolete the 90-or-so car rental shuttles now in operation. Until then, the shuttle vehicles will continue to run, just to the same car rental destination.
In the meantime, with all the rental car operators serving LAX now in the consolidated facility, a major real estate opportunity looms for both El Segundo and Westchester: What to do with the individual car rental sites that are no longer operating.
