For t hose planning to fly out of PHL

[cynic957]

You may want to consider other plans and use Leghigh Valley, Atlantic city,Newark or BWI.

Read the front page articles in the Phila Inquirer at http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/15411833.htm.

Man was arrested and allegedly brutualized by the local constables for complaining about not getting his bags for 90 minutes.

(As a lifelong PHL resident ovet teh years many published news reports have shown the the Philly PD "dumps" it's discipline problems at PHL substation - so don't get involved with them in any situation if avoidable.)

This occured 08/23/2006. Oddly enough we returned on AirTran on 08/29/2006 and it took us 90 minutes to get our bags. Phone calls to Air Tran places the blame on the city / airport run central delivery system. Given the multi airline nature, the fact that every clock in the terminal is 10 minutes fast, that gate changes are not communicated by either website nor electronic in terminal boards, this is an airport that is currently in shambles and should be avoided.

IMHO.

 

[DonnaL]

While I agree there are ongoing problems at PHL, a lot of those problems seem to be airline specific. We fly fairly frequently from PHL on Southwest and have never had a problem other than waiting in line at security clearance. Our bags have always arrived at baggage claim pretty promptly (no more than 20 minutes). However, USAirways has had many, many problems with their labor force at PHL for a few years now (some may remember the baggage fiasco about a year or so ago). And flying from Allentown, Newark or another airport doesn't guarantee you won't have baggage problems (especially if you're dealing with an airline that is notorious for it's share of baggage problems) My two sons flew back from Seattle, WA into Allentown two years ago on Delta and ALL of their baggage (except carryons) was lost for two days. So, sometimes the airport itself doesn't matter especially in baggage problems......it's the airline.

 

[pbnjrockette]

I don't have a problem with Southwest in Philadelphia except that they almost always change the Gates! Even when I've been given the gate number by the check-in desk it has been different when I get upstairs (last time I waited in a loooong security line in Terminal E only to find out my flight was changed to Terminal D---since I was there 2 hours early it wasn't on the monitors yet!!) When we returned from Providence our plane was early and we were at Gate D but our luggage was at Gate E---go figure! But the price is right, the attendants are friendly and if you get there early enough and bring a good novel things aren't too bad!!

Now---US SCAIRE??? Would avoid them whenever possible!!! Great airline to delay your luggage.

Will continue to fly out of Philadelphia (Newark and Baltimore are way too far to drive and AC doesn't have the choice of times we need.)

 

[havencruiser]

I Agree that US AIR is to be avoided at all costs!!!!! I fly SW to Orlando out of Philly all the time and really enjoy it. The crew really seems to like their job and except for being in weird Terminal E, it's great!

 

[DonnaL]

pbnjrockette,

I agree with the SW gate situation........on our last trip we checked our bags curbside and then went upstairs to go through security. The monitors were showing a different gate than our paperwork so we had to go to the SW counter to doublecheck which gate we really were supposed to be at.

 

[bavaria]

I fly in/out of PHL earlier in the year; heard on the radio that it moved from last place in the country to 2nd last place in customer service out of major airlines.

It took us about 2 hours to get away from the airport; ie claim bags etc. We are in and out of major and minor airports all over the country every few weeks and I definitely vote PHL as one of the worst. It also appears poorly laid out - I had to meet my colleague who came in on Delta; I came in on United and it was a challenge to locate her due to the airport layout.

Plus trying to find a gas station in the area to fill the rental car was difficult, and Hertz service at that location also a challenge.

 

[DonnaL]

We use Budget rental at PHL and about the longest wait we've had is waiting for the shuttle from baggage claim to the Budget office. Usually to save time I go to bag claim and DH goes to pick the car up. After I get our bags I wait in front of bag claim. We're usually out of the airport within 45 minutes of landing.

 

[bavaria]

I Agree that US AIR is to be avoided at all costs!!!!! I fly SW to Orlando out of Philly all the time and really enjoy it. The crew really seems to like their job and except for being in weird Terminal E, it's great!

United Pilot on my last flight into PHL:

'Sorry, folks - even though we arrived 25 minutes early due to United's excellent flying blah blah blah, we can't get you to a gate. Our path is blocked by a US Airways plane - looks like the pilot is lost and needs directions - even though this is a US Airways hub....'

Similar banter continued from the cockpit for many minutes until we were finally assigned a new gate.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

United Pilot on my last flight into PHL:

'Sorry, folks - even though we arrived 25 minutes early due to United's excellent flying blah blah blah, we can't get you to a gate. Our path is blocked by a US Airways plane - looks like the pilot is lost and needs directions - even though this is a US Airways hub....'

This is scary to read after last week's Delta Comair accident. We have airfare booked w/US Airways to go to WDW - maybe we should reconsider. I didn't realize other airlines were this competitive with each other. It actually makes me question United as well - to bad mouth others in their field- not sure how professional this is.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

This is really nothing new.

PHL has always been & will always be a nightmare. Yes, some airlines are better than others but things change so forget about brand loyalty & go with a "what have you done for me lately" mentality.

 

[bavaria]

United Pilot on my last flight into PHL:

'Sorry, folks - even though we arrived 25 minutes early due to United's excellent flying blah blah blah, we can't get you to a gate. Our path is blocked by a US Airways plane - looks like the pilot is lost and needs directions - even though this is a US Airways hub....'

This is scary to read after last week's Delta Comair accident. We have airfare booked w/US Airways to go to WDW - maybe we should reconsider. I didn't realize other airlines were this competitive with each other. It actually makes me question United as well - to bad mouth others in their field- not sure how professional this is.

Please don't worry based on this. you will find detractors and fans of EVERY airline if you read here long enough. Just find an airline that suits your needs. My needs are hubs, loyalty rewards, and service. Yours may be price. That's why I fly United while others fly SW, for instance.

And pilot banter is common while waiting for a gate on United - it eases tension. Many airline passengers rate number one frustration as 'nobody tells us WHY there is a delay'. So United pilots do tell us quite often.

 

[helenk]

I've used Southwest, USAirways and Airtran out of PHL and I have been lucky with USairways and enjoy flying with them. The worst of three to me has been Airtran, while their flight attendents have been great, it seems they are consistantly late in departing, we waited last year at our gate you just knew we were going to be late leaving because the plane had not even come in yet the boards kept reading that the flight was on time, we happen to glance up at another board and saw that our gate had been changed,,,this was about 20 minutes before the flight was due to take off. Fortunately we were just across the way. Even so we were nearly 45 minutes late taking off.
..
For those of us between PHL and Lehigh, it really is cheaper for us to fly out of PHL. There are few direct flights our of Lehigh except for the charters the flights have been known to be cancelled periodically if the plane is not full.
.
I'll stick with PHL

 

[Disneyfan63]

Hi,

I fly out of PHL for all my flights using USAir and so far have had no lost baggage or delays. I do not drive and PHL is a lot closer (and therefore cheaper for transportation) than AC or LVIA.

Jim

 

[Disneyhappy]

I travel frequently out of PHL for business as well as several pleasure trips to Orlando every year. In my experience, PHL is one of the worst airports for customer service with the least customer service oriented employees throughout the airport. As far as airlines, I find it ironic that the most expensive airline I fly is US Air and it has the worst service as far as on-time flights and lengthy delays for luggage. But like another poster stated, others may have a different experience with US Air.