World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Tel: (615) 275 1675.
Website: www.flynashville.com
Nashville International Airport is located 13km (eight miles) southeast of central Nashville. The airport has no direct international flights (except to Canada) but is a domestic hub, with around eight million passengers annually using the airport and over 400 flights per day.

Major airlines: National airline American Airlines (tel: (800) 433 7300 or 223 5436; website: www.aa.com ) used Nashville International Airport as their main hub in previous years, but no longer dominate. Other carriers include Air Canada, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

Approximate flight times to Nashville: From London is 11 hours; from New York is 2 hours 30 minutes; from Los Angeles is 4 hours 15 minutes; from Toronto is 2 hours and from Sydney is 22 hours.

Airport facilities: These include ATMs, bureau de change, bank, restaurants, cafs, shops, post boxes, lockers, a massage bar and a children’s play area. Car hire is available from all major agencies including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty.

Business facilities: The Wright Travel Business Center (tel: (615) 275 2660, website: www.wrighttravel.net ) provides photocopiers, faxes and PC workstations. There is also a fully equipped conference room for hire. Other services include a travel agent, courier, translation, mobile phone and other equipment hire.

Arrival/departure tax: Taxes, ranging from about US$22 for domestic flights up to US$105 for long-haul flights (depending on the destination), are included in the price of the ticket.

Transport to the city: Most hotels near the airport have their own shuttle buses. Hotels Downtown, in Vanderbilt and on Music Row, use the Gray Line Airport Express (tel: (615) 275 1180 or 883 5555, www.graylinenashville.com ). This operates daily 0600-2300, every 15-20 minutes from the airport or every 30 minutes from each hotel. The fare is US$11 one way or US$17 return (journey time – 30 minutes). Alternatively, the Metropolitan Transit Authority – MTA (tel: (615) 862 5950, website: www.nashvillemta.org ) runs both express and local bus services to Downtown Nashville. The very slow local bus runs (0645-1700) with a journey time of 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic, whereas the express bus, the N18, runs (0813-1730) with a journey time of 15 minutes or 25 minutes in rush hour. One-way fares are US$1.45. Exact change required. Taxis are available outside the terminal and a fare into central Nashville should cost US$15-20. Rates to the Opryland complex should be a flat fare of $20.