No nonstop flights

[wendydarling826]

We have always flown SW from Philadelphia to Orlando, but the landscape seems to have changed a great deal in the past year. There don't seem to be any nonstop flights any more. Is SW just not flying nonstop, or is it likely they will add nonstop flights? We're traveling in August. I have looked at Frontier, but the upcharges are ridiculous.

 

[jo-jo]

I saw some on weekends but not during the week. But yeah. Last year, we added a night because no non stops on the day we wanted to fly. This year we booked as soon as we decided since I figured the nonstops would be snapped up.

 

[Magical2017]

BWI has some NS flights.

 

[easyas123]

We have lived smack in-between PHI & BWI for a long, long time- Southwest has had a much better n/s schedule out of BWI than PHL for quite a while. If you can do BWI to travel Southwest for a nonstop that would be your best bet. Or choose another carrier out of PHL.
I've got two flights out of PHL in March, both American Airlines. I do prefer PHL but choose n/s in the AM if possible over airport.

 

[sam_gordon]

I don't know your exact dates, but picking a random Saturday-Saturday in August, American has multiple NS from PHL to MCO.

 

[beccasmom]

We were longtime SWA fans, but have moved on. There are few, if any, non-stop flights from PHL, and its been that way for a while. We finally just gave up. We have been booking with American instead (happy to have an alternative). The fares were comparable, but I don’t want to spend a good part of my vacation time making connections when a viable non-stop option is available. We use our AA credit card to book, so there are no baggage charges. And the seats were a tad more comfortable (subjective, I know, but I’ve always preferred Airbus planes over Boeing). I would love to know why SWA seems to consider PHL an after-thought these days….the terminal was always busy and the flights were packed. We last used them in January 2020 for a WDW trip and managed to get non-stop flights (the times weren’t optimal, but you can’t have everything….).

 

[emilymad]

We have been driving to BWI especially for non-weekend flights. It isn't that much further for us and usually has non-stop cheaper flights. And parking at BWI has been running half the price of PHL. We did try American but it only works for us to pay for main cabin extra so it usually much more money than SW.

 

[MrKnight]

PHL is a hub for American Airlines, you can certainly get a non-stop between PHL and MCO on American, lots of flight time options too..

 

[georgina]

Yep, you have to pick what airlines give you what you need. Still enough non-stops for me on SW out of DCA to MCO, if they go away I will probably go back to American.

 

[wendydarling826]

PHL is a hub for American Airlines, you can certainly get a non-stop between PHL and MCO on American, lots of flight time options too..

We decided to go with American Airlines. They have several Non stop flights to choose from. Pricier than SW, but at least we can get what we need!

 

[PatMcDuck]

Yes SW left Newark completely, and lost now almost all nonstops to and from MCO. It is a bummer. I use Newark mostly now, JetBlue. Rarely we use United (EWR) or Spirit. From PHL, I would watch American and Spirit, Frontier. And watch Spirit out of ACY.

SOMETIMES Spirit and Frontier are ok if the fares start at well under $100, the fees are about $67-70 if you want to select seats and check a bag.

 

[joxer1014]

Just flew SW last week from PHL. Besides the lack of weekday non stops, I noticed at PHL that they have less gates than before. In the past when you walked to the end of E terminal, SW had all the gates on that half moon waiting area. Last week at least 2 maybe 3 of them now had Frontier and Spirit signage. If I didnt know better I would think that SW is gradually reducing its presence in PHL until they go away completely. That is why BWI has around 8 noststops a day to MCO. I wouldnt put it past SW to pull what they did in Newark. Cant ignore the writing on the wall.

 

[DebbieB]

They have pulled out or reduced service at several Legacy Carrier hubs. It’s hard to compete with a Legacy for business fliers. No first class, no premium economy, no Europe. Business travelers typically book last minute and pay higher fares. Those perks are important. They let American have Philadelphia and built up Baltimore instead.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Same here. We used to fly SWA always, thanks to the reasonable prices and NS flights. However, I've been finding NS flights from MCO to PHL. So I book American out of PHL to MCO, then fly SWA back home. Both legs of the trip are non-stop.

 

[disny_luvr]

We were longtime SWA fans, but have moved on. There are few, if any, non-stop flights from PHL, and its been that way for a while. We finally just gave up. We have been booking with American instead (happy to have an alternative). The fares were comparable, but I don’t want to spend a good part of my vacation time making connections when a viable non-stop option is available. We use our AA credit card to book, so there are no baggage charges. And the seats were a tad more comfortable (subjective, I know, but I’ve always preferred Airbus planes over Boeing). I would love to know why SWA seems to consider PHL an after-thought these days….the terminal was always busy and the flights were packed. We last used them in January 2020 for a WDW trip and managed to get non-stop flights (the times weren’t optimal, but you can’t have everything….).

I'm guessing the reason they mostly stopped with the nonstops from Philly is that their hub at Baltimore is only about two hours away. We fly SW out of BWI all the time, but we have flown AA from Philly, too, depending on price. We much prefer BWI over Philly so I guess it is a win for us, but I can see why people that aren't as close to BWI as we are might be disappointed in the discontinued SW nonstops from Philly.

 

[beccasmom]

Just flew SW last week from PHL. Besides the lack of weekday non stops, I noticed at PHL that they have less gates than before. In the past when you walked to the end of E terminal, SW had all the gates on that half moon waiting area. Last week at least 2 maybe 3 of them now had Frontier and Spirit signage. If I didnt know better I would think that SW is gradually reducing its presence in PHL until they go away completely. That is why BWI has around 8 noststops a day to MCO. I wouldnt put it past SW to pull what they did in Newark. Cant ignore the writing on the wall.

The last time we flew SW was late July 2021 and those gates were still all for SW. We were thrilled when SW entered the Philly market several years back and flew them frequently. But it’s back to American now for us. We are okay with that and very fortunate to have another (although usually costlier )option. When we use our AA credit card, there are at least no luggage fees.

 

[joxer1014]

I wish I had an airline card that gives me a break like that. Philly is just getting worse. If I could handle it, I would fly out of Baltimore

 

[disny_luvr]

I wish I had an airline card that gives me a break like that. Philly is just getting worse. If I could handle it, I would fly out of Baltimore

What do you mean by if you can handle it? The drive? We live almost an equal distance between Philly and BWI and will always pick BWI over Philly unless the tickets are way too much to fly out of BWI, as was the case for our April trip last year. We just do not like the Philly airport at all.

 

[joxer1014]

What do you mean by if you can handle it? The drive? We live almost an equal distance between Philly and BWI and will always pick BWI over Philly unless the tickets are way too much to fly out of BWI, as was the case for our April trip last year. We just do not like the Philly airport at all.

I live in the middle of Philly so, yeah its easier to just fly out of PHL. I dont have the luxury of being able to choose between BWI and PHL. If I had your choice, I would go to BWI for the sole reason that I can get a nonstop on SW every day of the week. Right now SW only has weekend nonstops out of PHL which does not work for us. The drive for us is 2 hours plus tolls. The drive to PHL is 30 minutes and no tolls. As far as the fares, they seem to be the same for either airport generally speaking. This is only for SW. Base fares for other airlines out of PHL are usually lower before all the extra fees.

 

[_19disnA]

It is also a good idea to check about quarterly for which airlines/flights/times/prices/airports work best for you. Airlines have some seasonal flights so at different times of the year you may find more choices or different flights being offered. Other flights may be added or removed for any number of reasons. I always check what the 'total' price of a ticket will be. Base fares can be misleading since you likely have to add the costs of checking baggage, choosing a seat, etc. and makes the budget airline fare less of a bargain.