Flying through PHIL

Can anyone tell me what their experience has been like flying home with a connecting flight in Philadelphia? After seeing the horror stories about CLT I think we might be better off going that route on our way back to Chicago....the only thing I worry about is the 1.5 hour time for clearing customs. Thanks in advance for any responses! I want to try to get our flights booked this week if possible.

Well, you're more apt to have weather delays in Philly in the winter. And I believe that physically it's a much larger airport. The way things are today for airline travelers, I think it's all a crap shoot.

I live in Mechanicsburg, I avoid flying out of PHL at all costs. Rather drive to Newark. Always fly USAirway MDT-CLT-SXM. Usaully avoid flying on weekends. Found that Global Entry eliminates many lines.

We fly through PHL about half the time and CLT the other half. Used to be much better to go through CLT since PHL makes you use shuttle between gates and was always under construction. Now we view them both about the same. Good point made about improving odds of not having weather problems by going through CLT but PHL is likely more able to remove snow faster than CLT.
Bottom line, as stated, "crap shoot".

We always try to avoid PHL for our January trip....adding snow AND customs makes any connection iffy. No issues for non-snow months.

If it is the only choice then that is that...if there are reasonable alternatives then that would be my choice.

The last couple of years we have switched to JB for the return (N/S no-brainer) with USAir BOS-CLT to SXM and this year we are doing both legs on JB ...even choosing the 45 minute SJU layover rather than chancing JFK in the winter.

We'll see how that works.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

We've had some delays going through Philly as well. Some late takeoffs due to having to de-ice the plane. We find that connection times now with US Air are really tight and we often have to almost run to get to our next gate. Not quite sure what the answer is. We have done carryon only to get to the connection as the flight was boarding. No Zone 2 luxury for us! Had to gate check our bags! Not happy! Good luck! All you can do is hope for the best!

I've found PHL much easier and more reliable than CLT for the past 2 years or so. No bus is needed at PHL between gates if not connecting to Regional aircraft that are based out of the USAirways Express terminal.

We have had such horrible experiences with CLT I may try PHL next time. I wish USAIR flew direct out of JFK.

Along with every other airline?? You folks from the NY area do not understand how great you have it!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

We have had horrible experiences flying through PHL to BDL. We have been delayed over night many times. Last February it was so bad we opted to drive home because our rebooked flight. Was a 24 hour delay. We are trying Charlotte this year.

Haha! We almost drove home from CLT to BDL. Would have got home before our friends who missed the flight. Nightmare story! Flown through both many times. One is really as bad as the other!

Should always try flying direct when leaving St. Maarten. So many delays and unexpected misfortunes. Good luck though and hope all works out for you.

I read a recent thread about long waits at Phil customs and thousands of people. Is this normal, or due to weather?
We have Global Entry and usually clear in Mia or SJU, our April connection in Phil is 1 1/2 hours at 7pm. I am worried that this is not enough time.
Appreciate any comments.
Thanks,
Ellen

Not sure about flying through PHL, as this is usually our destination airport. I can tell you that collecting your bags at PHl part is going to be a hold up. Baggage handling at PHL is horrible.
We usually fly in and out of EWR (1-3/4 Hr from house), rather than PHL (15 Minutes from house).
I hope this helps

Regards,
Dave

We travel via Philly a lot. We try to do it coming home rather than on the way down, thinking about weather. We usually have a long layover (2-3 hrs) and if there is a problem, which has happened once, we can rent a car and drive home in a few hours.

Let me put it this way. Since the return trip for us was through Phila this past Saturday I feel qualified to say that we always try to fly through CLT because it is newer/cleaner/and generally the people are nicer. However, we chose to give PHL another chance since it got us to SXM earlier than the CLT connection flight when we booked.

We arrived on USAir Flt#878 SXM to PHL just after 7PM. First stop Passport check, over 1,000 people in single line (rat maze) and 4 windows operating ("we cut down staff after 6PM"), then customs/immigration, then security, then shuttle to different terminal by bus/then security again, then to our gate. Over 1.5 hours from beginning to end in PHL.
No brainer for me, never again.

Tom; saw you passed through on a Saturday-any experience on a weekday? Our son will be returning from SXM on a Wednesday-Jan 28th-7pm and his connection to upstate NY is 8:30 via US Air-he is concerned and considering leaving some of his gear with us in SXM and flying home with a carry on? Any TTOL advice/experience is appreciated.

Thanks Tom, your previous post on another thread, made me wonder about the airport conditions in Philly. Guess we will just have to hope for the best.
We will be traveling on a Sat, hopefully, Global Entry will help us. SJU is a breeze to clear customs, and so is Mia with Global Entry.
Ellen

We do everything possible to fly non-stop, so we always drive to Philadelphia from Baltimore. We've been to SXM most every year for the last 10 years and we have never had any major issues departing or arriving in Philadelphia. We are not connecting to another flight, so we do not have that worry. Some years the lines are longer than others, but lucky for us it has never been anything terrible.
I think I just jinxed us for our February flight.
Scott

Our Philly experience with customs is relevant with how many other planes arrive at the same time and where they came from. Our longest wait was when a big plane came from Jamaica a few years ago. It was just like Tom said. Other times we breezed right through other than the long walk.

I think your odds are a lot better on a weekday. Our son left the Tuesday before us and although he ran into almost an hour delay in CLT, and thus missed his connection to MDT, I think this was a rare exception rather than the rule.
Check terminal departure gate. All international arrives @ terminal A, getting to terminal F (last terminal)is always a concern with having to rely on shuttle buses.