A Memphis airport car service is about as simple as airport pickups get. The terminal is compact, baggage claim is on one level, and downtown is about 10 miles (16 km) away, around 19 minutes on a clear road. Your chauffeur tracks the flight, waits inside baggage claim with a name board and walks you to a car on the commercial drive. The fare is fixed before you fly: from US$130 in a Business Sedan to US$340 in an Executive Sprinter for Frederick W. Smith International Airport (MEM) to downtown and Beale Street.
This guide from the Elly8.net desk follows a MEM arrival in order, then the departure, with the airport's own rules for where each kind of vehicle loads. The airport took its new name recently, but the code is still MEM, and everything on your ticket and our booking uses it.
What happens when you book a Memphis airport car service?
You send the flight number, the drop-off address, the passengers and the bags, choose a vehicle and pay a fixed, all-in price, from US$130 to downtown in a Business Sedan. The chauffeur tracks the flight, meets you inside baggage claim with a name board, helps with bags and drives you directly, with complimentary waiting after a tracked landing.
The price includes the chauffeur, the vehicle, taxes, standard gratuity and the meet and greet. Tolls, parking and waiting beyond the included time are billed at cost. No meter runs and nothing is negotiated at the curb. The same fixed price applies in the other direction, from your hotel to MEM.
See Memphis prices and reserve
Step 1: before you fly
Four details make the pickup smooth.
Your flight number. It lets the chauffeur follow the flight in real time. Many Memphis arrivals connect through a larger hub, and a missed connection that moves you to a later flight is picked up automatically when you update the number with the desk.
Your airline. At MEM, United uses Terminal C and the other major airlines, including American, Delta and Southwest, use Terminal B, according to the airport's pick-up and drop-off page. It matters more for departures than arrivals, as you will see below.
Passengers and bags. These choose the vehicle. A Business Sedan or First Class Sedan carries up to three passengers and two bags; a Business SUV or First Class SUV up to six passengers and six bags; an Executive Sprinter up to twelve passengers and twelve bags. Golf bags, guitar cases, strollers and medical equipment all count, so list them.
Child seats. Give the number of children and their ages or weights, and the seats are fitted before pickup.
Then choose Reserve now on the price list or enter any address in the web booker. Confirmation arrives by email, followed by the chauffeur's name and phone number before you land.
Step 2: landing and the walk to baggage claim
Follow the Baggage Claim signs from the gate. The airport says the lower-level drive serves passengers being picked up, and baggage claim is where your chauffeur waits. Overhead displays tell you which belt has your flight's bags, and the airport lists a separate belt for oversized luggage, which is where golf bags and instrument cases usually appear.
The chauffeur stands inside the baggage claim area with a name board. If you would rather be met at a particular spot, such as a seating area while one of your party collects the bags, say so in the booking notes.
Step 3: delays and waiting
Because the flight is tracked, an early arrival or a two-hour delay does not need a phone call. Waiting after a tracked landing is complimentary, so time spent at the belt is covered. Waiting beyond the included time is billed at cost, and the desk will tell you before that starts if your bags are seriously delayed.
If a flight is cancelled or you are rebooked to the next day, call or message the 24/7 desk and the booking moves with you. Late arrivals are where a pre-booked car helps most at MEM: the airport says taxis operate from 6 a.m. until one hour after the last flight arrival, and the MATA airport bus runs daytime hours only.
Step 4: the curb and the car
From baggage claim, the chauffeur walks you out to the vehicle. According to the airport's ground transportation page, taxis and pre-arranged limousines use the center commercial drive in front of the Concourse B baggage claim area, which is where your car waits.
The other options load in different places, which is useful to know if someone in your group is making their own way:
- Taxis: the center commercial drive, from 6 a.m. until one hour after the last arrival.
- Uber and Lyft: the airport's ride-app page says pickups have moved downstairs to the Interim Commercial Curb on the arrivals and baggage level, with orange signs, and are expected to stay there until construction of a new upper driveway is completed in the fourth quarter of 2027.
- MATA bus: the #28 Airport Route stops on the inner commercial drive on the baggage level.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Bags | MEM to downtown and Beale Street | Round trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Sedan | up to 3 | 2 | US$130 | US$250 |
| Business SUV | up to 6 | 6 | US$170 | US$325 |
| First Class SUV | up to 6 | 6 | US$210 | US$400 |
| First Class Sedan | up to 3 | 2 | US$230 | US$440 |
| Executive Sprinter | up to 12 | 12 | US$340 | US$650 |
Step 5: the drive
Downtown is about 10 miles (16 km) from MEM, roughly 19 minutes on a clear road via I-240 or I-55. Weekday rush hours and big nights at FedExForum on Beale Street add time, but the fare does not change. Hotels along the riverfront and Main Street are covered by the downtown fare; East Memphis offices, Germantown, Collierville and addresses across the state line in Mississippi are priced by exact address in the booker.
Two stops are common on the way in. Graceland says it is about three minutes from the airport, so many visitors land, tour Graceland with their bags locked in the car and then check in downtown. That is an hourly chauffeur booking, from US$95 an hour in a Business Sedan with a three-hour minimum, rather than a transfer. Families travelling for care at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital often ask for a quiet, direct ride with help at both ends; tell the desk what you need and the chauffeur is briefed.
Step 6: the trip back to MEM
For departures, the airport says the departures area is on the upper-level drive, following the Ticketing signs. Tell us your airline: Terminal C for United and Terminal B for the others listed by the airport, so the chauffeur drops you at the right door. The fare from downtown to MEM is the same fixed price as the arrival, from US$130 to US$340, and a round trip booked together is US$250 in a sedan up to US$650 in a Sprinter.
Book the pickup with enough time for check-in, bag drop and security on the day. The chauffeur arrives at the agreed time and helps load the bags.
Private flights and FBOs
General aviation at Memphis uses the FBOs rather than the terminal. The airport lists Signature Flight Support and Wilson Air Center among its general aviation services. Give the desk the tail number, the FBO and the expected arrival time, and the chauffeur meets you at the FBO according to its rules. See private jet and FBO car service.
Fixed fare or meter: which is better from MEM?
The honest answer depends on the trip. The City of Memphis taxi rates published by the airport start with a US$2.00 flag drop and 20 cents for each ninth of a mile, plus a US$4.00 airport surcharge and a fuel surcharge of US$1 to US$3. On a clear road to downtown that works out at roughly US$25 to US$27 before tip, our arithmetic from the published rates. For one traveller with a carry-on in the afternoon, that is the better value, and the MATA bus, free during the authority's current zero-fare pilot, is cheaper still if you have time.
A fixed-price car wins when the meter is not the point: late flights after the taxi stand winds down, families who need child seats, groups who want one vehicle, a stop at Graceland, a meeting straight after landing, or a company that wants one invoice. Our Memphis taxi or rideshare guide works through those numbers in detail, and chauffeur vs taxi and chauffeur vs Uber and Lyft explain the general trade-offs.
If you are weighing the bus, check the times first. The airport lists the #28 Airport Route from 5:45 a.m. to 6:29 p.m. on weekdays, 8:45 a.m. to 5:29 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:45 a.m. to 4:29 p.m. on Sundays, and MATA's fares page lists a US$1.00 adult base fare, with rides currently free under its zero-fare pilot. An evening arrival on a Sunday has no bus at all, which is exactly the moment a booked car earns its price. The same taxi sheet also adds US$1.00 for each additional passenger and 50 cents for each bag beyond three per person, so a family of four with a pile of luggage pays noticeably more than the solo traveller's estimate.
Groups and business travellers
Groups of seven to twelve fit one Executive Sprinter with their bags, at US$340 from MEM to downtown. Barbecue teams arriving for Memphis in May, wedding parties and sports teams book this way; the Memphis Sprinter van guide covers what else the Sprinter is good for.
Companies with regular Memphis travel can open a corporate account for monthly invoicing and saved traveller profiles, and NDAs are available on request. Read more on airport transfers and meet and greet.
Rides in Memphis are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Partner vehicles are four model years old or newer.
Flying on from Memphis? We publish fixed airport fares in Nashville, New Orleans, St. Louis and Louisville; our Louisville airport car service guide walks through SDF the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Where does my chauffeur meet me at the Memphis airport?
Inside the baggage claim area with a name board. After you collect your bags, the chauffeur walks you to the car on the center commercial drive in front of the Concourse B baggage claim area, where the airport directs pre-arranged limousines. If you prefer a different meeting spot inside the terminal, add it to the booking notes.
How much is a car from MEM to downtown Memphis?
The fixed, all-in price per vehicle is US$130 in a Business Sedan, US$170 in a Business SUV, US$210 in a First Class SUV, US$230 in a First Class Sedan and US$340 in an Executive Sprinter. The same price applies from downtown to the airport, and round trips run from US$250 to US$650.
What if my flight is late?
The chauffeur tracks your flight and adjusts to the real landing time, and waiting after a tracked landing is complimentary. Waiting beyond the included time is billed at cost. If your flight is cancelled or you are rebooked, contact the 24/7 desk and the booking is moved to your new arrival.
How much luggage fits in each vehicle?
A Business Sedan or First Class Sedan takes up to three passengers and two bags. A Business SUV or First Class SUV takes up to six passengers and six bags. An Executive Sprinter takes up to twelve passengers and twelve bags. Tell us about golf bags, instruments or strollers so the desk sizes the vehicle correctly.
Can we stop at Graceland on the way from the airport?
Yes. Graceland says it is about three minutes from the airport. Book an hourly chauffeur, from US$95 an hour in a Business Sedan with a three-hour minimum, so your luggage stays in the car while you tour. Reserve your Graceland tour time first and give it to the desk.
What is the cancellation policy?
Free more than 72 hours before pickup; 10% at 72 hours or less; 50% at 48 hours or less; 100% at 24 hours or less or for a no-show. Refunds go to the original card. Flight changes are not cancellations: update the flight number with the desk and the pickup moves.
