Flying out of Atlantic City instead of PHL?

[ajpa]

Has anyone near Philly tried flying out of Atlantic City insytead of PHilly International?
How did that work out for you in terms of doing long-term airport parking etc?
Did you save money overall?


Thanks!!!

 

[beachmom14]

Don't know if this helps, but when I was deciding between Atlantic City and Newark the big factor was Spirit Airlines. Their rates are much cheaper but with taxes and luggage fees the dollar amount was outragous!! Ended up leaving out of Newark on Jet Blue for $208 roundtrip and 1 bag plus 1 carryone are free per person.

 

[Ed J]

PHL is an hour for us, ACY is 30 minutes. Parking is way easier at ACY (think going to the mall) and costs less. ACY has 1 terminal and 1/2 a dozen gates.

We booked airfare for a summer trip last night out of ACY on Spirit. With all the fees for everything including bags both ways and picking seats it was 275 a head, that was about the same but with better times ( 7 AM out 8 PM return) than AirTran (including bags and seats) out of PHL. Southwest was 330 a head with the 6 AM out and late PM back also out of PHL. We could have save some dough flying out and back mid week but we're stuck traveling on the weekends.

We don't save a significant amount of money, but we do save a lot of time and the whole travel part of the tip is way easier. We've been flying out of ACY since the over flow lot was dirt, Id pay more to fly out of ACY, its that much better to me.

 

[CleveRocks]

No crowds, $9 a day parking that you can walk to the terminal from, quick security lines (because there are so few passengers compared with most airports), no long walks within the airport.

I love ACY, and not just because I live 15 minutes from it.

 

[mieuxmew]

We have flown out of Atlantic City airport a few times. Very easy airport!! Unfortunately, the airline is Spirit, which has some issues, as numerous people on this board have reported!

I have flown out of Philly and I like that airport, too! We use offsite parking at Winner and have always had a good experience.

Atlantic City is almost 2 hours away, PHL is 1.5 hours away. Our closest airport is Newark (45 minutes). Usually flights out of Newark are a lot more $$ than the other two airports, so the extra drive has been worth it. This trip, we are flying Jet Blue out of Newark and will be using offsite parking.

I would only ever consider using Spirit airlines if there was a HUGE price difference. As long as everything goes smoothly, Spirit is fine. When problems arise, Spirit's lack of customer service can rear it's ugly head.

 

[Sophie's Mom]

We live in Egg Harbor Township, which is where the airport is located so we almost always fly out of ACY to Florida. It is a very easy airport to navigate and the walk to almost anywhere is pretty easy. Of course you don't have the food or shopping venues that PHL has - but enough for a snack, a drink and something to read. What I do like is there is not delays in the air due to air traffic problems. Now the downside is Spirit. You certainly give up customer service. If everything runs smoothly - than Spirit can be okay. But if you need one extra thing - or need something changed - or there is an issue with a flight - than Spirit is not fun to deal with (as others here have posted.)

 

[Rhonda922]

I really like AC airport. I'd like to try getting pricing for our trip in November but I can only check up through November 3rd. We're looking for pricing on November 10th. Oh well. Its a small very manageable airport. I did get very air sick the last time we flew Spirit but I'm willing to try it again (dramameine in hand!)

 

[ajpa]

Thanks for all the input!
I didn't realize the AC airport is so nice!

I ended up booking out of PHL as usual (found Southwest $20 off coupon via coke rewards that made in cheaper) but I will definitely keep AC in mind next time.

 

[ajpa]

I really like AC airport. I'd like to try getting pricing for our trip in November but I can only check up through November 3rd. We're looking for pricing on November 10th. Oh well. Its a small very manageable airport. I did get very air sick the last time we flew Spirit but I'm willing to try it again (dramameine in hand!)

Rhonda, have you tried ginger (either fresh root, candied, or pill) for the motion sickness? A lot of people swear by it.

 

[Rhonda922]

AJPA - Yes, I've heard of those remedies before but I haven't tried them yet. I usually don't get motion sick on a plane. I haven't since that Spirit flight and I think that was 2 years ago. Now I just have a habit of throwing dramameine in my bag because that's such a horrible feeling when you're on a plane feeling awful.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks for all the input!
I didn't realize the AC airport is so nice!

I ended up booking out of PHL as usual (found Southwest $20 off coupon via coke rewards that made in cheaper) but I will definitely keep AC in mind next time.

Wow, I never even look at Coke rewards. How did you get that?

Was it $20 off pp or $20 off the total cost?

 

[ajpa]

I saw it on the one of the threads here - maybe the SW promo ones? Would never have seen it otherwsie as it is not on the SW website.

It is $20/per passenger on a roundtrip ticket ($10 off each way).
You have to use 100 coke reward points to get it.
If you don't have a SW Rapid Rewards number yet, you can get 60 coke reward points by signing up thru the coke rewards website.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I saw it on the one of the threads here - maybe the SW promo ones? Would never have seen it otherwsie as it is not on the SW website.

It is $20/per passenger on a roundtrip ticket ($10 off each way).
You have to use 100 coke reward points to get it.
If you don't have a SW Rapid Rewards number yet, you can get 60 coke reward points by signing up thru the coke rewards website.

Thanks, I'll have to look into it. I already have a RR # but wasting lots of coke points.