Sixt rent a car blog » car hire

The new Mercedes M-Class gets top marks in European safety tests

Charlotte Scheggia — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:37:40 +0000

While it if difficult to form any surprise from a manufacturer with the caliber of Mercedes, the new M-Class has been rates 5 star NCAP tests.

When you look at the results under the microscope, we see that the score for adult occupant protection is 96% while the big Benz SUV has recieved the maximum score for severe side impacts with poles, as well as collision with maximum security fences. The protection of all parts of the bofy is good, except for the chest, which is considered adequate. Protection of the knees and femurs in case of a frontal impact was also assessed as good.

The protection of children (which always is an upmost importance to parents is rated as good). Although it is not recommended for a child or baby to sit in the front seat, especially because the only way to disable the front airbags is to use the system compatible Mercedes‘ CPOD. Without this system, the front airbags are still active, which can result in serious injuries to babies sitting in a chair in the opposite direction of travel.

Sixt open in Shepherd’s Bush

David Jackson — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:07:15 +0000

We’re delighted to announce the opening of our new car and van rental branch in London Shepherd’s Bush. The branch which opened last week is our 16th rental location in the capital extending our offering in the West London area.

The branch will offer the usual range of new cars and vans all available to rent at fantastic rates on a long or short term basis.

The branch is well situated to serve customers in the Shepherd’s Bush, North Kensington and Notting Hill areas. As part of the opening we’ve got some fantastic special offers available, visit our Sixt Shepherd’s Bush page to take advantage of our great rates!

My time in the UK for Sixt rent a car

Martin Kapfhammer — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:54:29 +0000

In this post I would like to describe my 5 weeks internship time for Sixt in the UK. First of all, a short introduction about myself. My name is Martin and I’m a university student from Germany and as part of my degree studies I am working for Sixt every term between my semesters. Usually I work in the German Headquarters in Munich, but this term I took the chance to work abroad and I decided to go to the United Kingdom, to be exact to the Sixt UK head office in Chesterfield.

My colleagues and me in the Sixt office

I have never been to the United Kingdom before, so I did not know much about the country but that changed during my stay in Chesterfield and I am really starting to love the UK. Anyhow, on my first day I had two shocking experiences: first, the temperature change. Whilst the temperature in Munich was about 25 degrees, I arrived on a rainy and much colder day at Manchester airport. At the airport I hired a car from the local Sixt rent a car branch to drive to Chesterfield. And driving on the left side was a very tough challenge! I felt tense and had to frequently change the way I normally would look from the left to the right side and vice versa to ensure I didn’t drive too close to the edge of the street. Nevertheless, I arrived healthy in Chesterfield and as from now on I decided to use the buses and trains to make my way around the UK.

Visiting the Old Trafford football stadium

The next day was my first working day and I joined the Online Marketing Team where I learned a lot about online marketing, search engine optimisation and data analysis during my stay. After work I went with my colleagues for dinner and had my first Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding which I really enjoyed. Incidentally I really prefer the English food. I will miss all the Yorkshire Puddings, Chips & Fish and amounts of sandwiches and burgers when I return to Germany.

I travelled a lot around the North of England and visited cities and places in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Nottingham, Sheffield and the lovely Peak District National Park. The weekend I spent in Manchester was especially good because it was the day of the Champions League final between Manchester and Barcelona and the atmosphere in the pub was impressive and reached its peak after Rooney scored the equaliser. Unfortunately, the atmosphere declined in the second half…

Peak District National Park

Regrettably, this is my last week in the UK and I have to go back to Germany afterwards, but not before going to London to visit the capital city with its touristic highlights. Altogether I can look back on a very interesting time with a lot of positive experiences and friendships and I’m sure I will come back to the UK sometime in the future as there are still a lot of nice places I did not have the time to visit.

New Sixt branch in the Netherlands at Amsterdam Schiphol airport

Martin Kapfhammer — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:19:08 +0000

We are pleased to announce that we have just opened a new Sixt branch in the P1 Parking Area of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Europe’s third largest airport and one of the busiest in the world. Besides a more spacious and prominent branch, we now also have many additional parking spaces available for more rental cars at the airport. The car park and rental cars can now be easily reached from the inside of the terminal by walking from the Plaza along the Sheraton hotel to the parking area.

The branch offers a wide range of cars, SUV’s and convertibles in the summer season for low rental prices. All brands of the major car manufacturers such as Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Fiat and Vauxhall are available and most of them can be hired with either a diesel engine or with an automatic shift.

We look forward to welcoming you to Sixt at Schiphol Airport in the near future.

Sixt Ash Cloud Update

David Jackson — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:17:13 +0000

To help ease the worry and concern to our customers we are currently waiving cancellation fees on pre-paid bookings at all of our UK airport branches that are being affected by the Icelandic ash cloud. Many flights in and out of Scotland were cancelled today and there is more uncertainty ahead as more flights are expected to be grounded tomorrow.

We will keep customers updated of the latest situation via this blog however if you have any questions regarding your reservation please contact our reservations team on 0844 248 6620 (7am – 4am).

Customers that need to travel between Edinburgh and London or Edinburgh and Manchester can take advantage of one way rentals which are available between our Sixt locations in London, Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Airport. Reservations can be made online at Sixt car hire or by calling our reservations team on 0844 248 6620.

New rental desk at Stansted Airport

Catherine Hope — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:12:59 +0000

Readers of the Sixt blog will remember that back in January we announced that new rental locations would be opening at Stansted and Edinburgh Airports. We can now announce that the brand new office within the arrivals terminal at Stansted Airport will open next week as part of our continued expansion across the UK.

As current renters will be aware, Sixt have operated from a rental centre outside of the main terminal building at Stansted Airport for many years. The new office will open for the first time on the 1st of March offering the typical Sixt fleet of high quality rental vehicles. At Sixt, we are renowned for offering top of the range cars in all groups, something which sets us aside from our competitors, this includes the fantastic VW Polo Bluemotion which is exempt from the London Congestion Charge. Keep an eye on the ‘Sixt News’ section of the blog for updates on the new Audi A1 that is due to come on fleet within the next weeks!

Stansted is one of the UK’s most important travel hubs with over 20 million passengers passing through every year. The new branch within the arrivals hall, will ensure a Sixt representative is immediately available allowing our customers to pick-up their vehicle without any delays. As of 1 March we will also be extending the opening hours of the branch to 06.00 – 23.00, 7 days a week.

We are extremely excited about the opening of the new location and it shows the commitment that the company has to improving both the rental facilities and the service that we offer to our customers. Craig Nash has joined the Sixt team to manage the new branch and with his vast experience in the rental industry, we are sure that the new location will be a huge success.

To celebrate the new opening, we are running a number of promotions which include slashing prices on Stansted Airport car hire by up to 40%. Take a look online and see what takes your fancy from our large fleet of vehicles which start from as little as £15 per day.

Details of the opening in terminal at Edinburgh Airport will be available towards the end of the month, but with branches already in Heathrow and Manchester Airports,we are ready and waiting to help you on your way whether you are preparing to fly in or out of the UK.

We look forward to seeing you in one of our airport locations in the near future!

Sixt continues expansion and starts operations in Georgia

Peggy — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:34:48 +0000

Sixt is further expanding its network in fast growing markets and opens its operations in Georgia. From now on, customers can directly rent Sixt quality at the international airport Tiflis or in the historic city center of the capital. The fleet mix comprises a multitude of premium equipped cars, ranging from fuel-efficient compact class cars up to SUVs.

The Georgian economy is following a strong growth based on political reforms and the opening of the domestic market to the world economy. The world-bank lists Georgia on rang 12 out of 183 countries in its business report „Doing Business 2011“, while Germany ranks 22. Furthermore the tourism to Georgia is increasing because of its geographical location between the Black Sea and the Caucasus and several historical monuments. Thus Sixt foresees a substantial increase in mobility demand, both from business and private travelers.

Customers can rely on the Sixt quality and make reservations for Georgia in the usual, reliable and quick manner via the internet on the Sixt homepage. Sixt completes its range of attractive services by branches in the neighboring countries Turkey, Armenia and Russia.

Detlef Krehahn, Director Sixt Franchise: „Sixt starts business in Georgia at the right moment, as the country is currently in a sustainable economic upturn stage. Demand for mobility services will grow significantly in the medium-term. Therefore, our mission is to become a leading player in this growing market.”

Art Is Coming To Edinburgh Airport

Mike Osolinski — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:59:05 +0000

Edinburgh is well known as having a rich cultural heritage spanning hundreds of years. From the imposing castle to the hugely popular Fringe festival, there are many attractions which draw millions of visitors to the city every year.

Not content with all of this being on their doorstep, Edinburgh airport are now hoping to introduce visitors to the cities cultural delights before they even leave the arrivals lounge and there are plans to borrow works of art from local galleries to place in the international arrivals area as part of a redevelopment program costing over £500,000

These recent discussions are part of a larger overall investment the airport is making in a bid to handle the growing volume of passengers flying into the capital each year. One of the most significant recent developments has been the addition of a new centre for car hire at Edinburgh airport where all the cars are in one place and on site facilities such as car washing and fuel stations are available.

Manchester Airport Notes Passenger Increase

Mike Osolinski — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:04:05 +0000

It has been revealed that after almost two and a half years Manchester Airport is seeing a rise in its passenger numbers. With a number of popular routes to Singapore, the USA, and the Middle East boosting traveller numbers, October saw an increase of 1.81per cent in passengers, the first rise since May 2008.

Fantastic news for the airport, the consequences of such data are positive for all concerned. With higher popularity, airlines and services are far more likely to be willing to commit themselves to the port. Cheap car hire in Manchester facilities will offer those visitors to the region the perfect way to explore and discover the area, whilst an increasing number of flights to popular business and holiday hotspots will allow local residents fast and easy access to destinations around the world.

In particular, services to Dubai have attracted much attention, with Emirates noting record breaking passenger numbers to the UAE destination. Meanwhile, with Etihad Airways increasing their capacity to Abu Dhabi, passenger numbers to the Middle East have rocketed. And with Singapore Airlines also adding new flights to their routes, Manchester airport has noted a significant upsurge in traffic.

Talking of the welcome news, Manchester Airport’s managing director, Andrew Harrison, explained “we’re now starting to see strong passenger growth with international traffic showing a significant improvement on last year’s statistics. I am delighted to see that the market has finally taken a significant surge forward.” And with Christmas breaks increasingly popular, the airport’s popularity is set to continue soaring.

Driving success online

David Jackson — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:50:52 +0000

When it comes to selling car hire online we operate in a very competitive market. There are suppliers, brokers and now comparison websites all trying to win the customer by offering the best service and the easiest booking process.
As the online world develops faster than ever it’s vital to keep on top of the latest technologies and trends in order to operate a successful website.

With this in mind we were happy to respond to an enquiry from Julia Kowalczyk, a student who runs an active travel blog. Julia was putting together a blog article about the main car hire companies and the website’s which they operate.

It’s an interesting piece looking at how the different websites compare to each other looking at the similarities and differences. We were pleased to see that our Sixt website was well received when placed alongside three of our competitors.

The original article was in French but there is a good English translation also available. If you have a few minutes it’s worth a read.