Discussions

Haven’t flown from Brandon to Calgary yet and I know a lot of people have so had a few questions about the airport. What’s it like to rent a car there and what company would you recommend? Also is there anything to do nearby if you have a long layover?

When you fly from Brandon to Calgary the plane parks at the West Jet turbo prop section of the airport that looks more like a donjon than a terminal. The car rental section is across the road from the main terminal so it's going to be a bit of a walk to get there and up some stairs. Calgary airport has just about every car rental company imaginable but you'd be best to pre order and have the car waiting for you. The last time I rented with Enterprise the paperwork was waiting for me and I was in the car within minutes. In fact, the guy walked me upstairs and I got to choose my car out of 4 that were there. Got a real nice Mazda with less than 1K on the odometer.  
 
As to what to do? Just drive around Calgary is nice. Check out the old Olympic venue on the west side or check out the Glenmore Reservoir area. You can grab a sandwich and have a picnic there. If you have some time just drive west to have a look at the mountains.

I'm not sure when your trip is but I just checked every car rental outlet in Calgary and at the Calgary airport and they all say "sold out" I was just using imaginary dates but every date and every location I used was sold out so it may not be easy to find a car.  
 
If you have many hours lay-over might I suggest the Aaclaim Hotel. We did our travel quarantine there and I can not say enough good about this place. After hearing the horror stories about the covid rip-off hotels in Toronto, the Acclaim Hotel in Calgary was fantastic. Pet friendly, the food was to die for, and after we got our covid tests back they refunded our un-used portion of the stay. No rip off hotel in Toronto can say that. This hotel is right beside the airport with free transportation. Even if your only going to be there for less than a day, it might be worth your while to check this out, especially if no rental car is available.