Philadelphia Airport

[mimmiepnp]

Due to a recent move, our closest airport will be Philly. I am hearing terrible things about this airport regarding lost luggage, baggage wait time, etc. Can anyone comment on this? I am thinking that I should stay with Newark or JFK even though my drive time will be btw 2-3 hours. We have to book next month for flights to van couver and I am on “fare watch”. Any thoughts?.

Thank you

 

[ncc1701]

Philadelphia is our home airport . The baggage wait times can be annoying some trips but not enough to justify an extra 2 plus hours to Newark or JFK. Not to mention the North Jersey/ New York area traffic.

 

[Minniemouse07]

PHL is fine. We flew more in the last year than the five years prior and didn't find it more or less of a hassle than any of the other airports (Tampa, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Nashville, & Atlanta).

I can recommend Winner for off site parking. We like that they drive us in our car (no shuttle) and for an extra fee it is nice to be able to leave directly from the airport if we land later in the day.

 

[Best Aunt]

OP, are you hearing about problems flying out of Philly or flying into Philly?

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

PHL is fine. Newark is only 10 minutes further from my house, but we always fly from Philly. 15 years ago, it was pretty much a guarantee that one of our suitcases wouldn't make it to our destination. That was only on US Air, and hasn't been an issue for us in the last 10 years at all. (I'm sure I just jinxed myself now )

Security waits were only long on one of many trips in the last few years, I'm sure that was just the exact day/time we flew. Even that "bad" day was faster than MCO on a normal day.

I'd have to be saving hundreds of dollars to be willing to add a 3 hour drive on either end of a long flight.

 

[mimmiepnp]

OP, are you hearing about problems flying out of Philly or flying into Philly?

.

I got the impression that it was both ways but what you hear on random reviews is not always accurate and and I trust what I hear on this site so I am glad that I asked. Philly airport is even a little cheaper than the rest to Vancouver. I want to book as soon as the window opens because those flights are expensive and I hope they are a little cheaper on day 1 of booking as many other airlines are.

 

[Carly2]

We always fly out of PHL and haven't had any problems with waiting for luggage. We got our luggage and through customs last year when we went to Europe with no delays. I wouldn't do the drive unless the flight prices were significantly less.

 

[ncc1701]

PHL is fine.
Security waits were only long on one of many trips in the last few years, I'm sure that was just the exact day/time we flew. Even that "bad" day was faster than MCO on a normal day.

Ditto about the security lines compared to MCO.

 

[paults]

been using PHL for over 10 yrs and never had bag problems

 

[beccasmom]

PHL has been our home airport of over 30 years. There was a time when retrieving luggage was a painfully long process, but that was several years back. We haven’t experienced that in quite a while and DH and I both travel for business as well as leisure.

 

[mimmiepnp]

Thank you all for the responses. Sounds like we will go with Philly as it will be less than 30 minutes from my daughters home.

 

[tjmw2727]

We fly primarily out of Phlly (also Baltimore) and its fine except for occasional delays in baggage claim on the return. Some of the gates have gone through renovations lately and the AA gates are really nice with charging ports and various restaurants available at the gate (pricey though).

We have TSA pre so I haven't really noticed the regular TSA lines lately, they moved the tsa pre entrance so if you have people in your party with and without pre you have use two separate security checks. Well at least for the gates we have been using lately - SWA and AA!

 

[writerguyfl]

You have to take online reviews for places like restaurants and hotels with a grain of salt. People are more apt to complain online than report positive experiences.

For a review of an airport, I'd up that to a shaker of salt. I don't think many people would think to review something as multifaceted and complex as a major international airport. So for every complaint you read online, there will be thousands of people who are had satisfactory or better experiences (and don't bother to write an online review).

 

[Huff]

Where will you be driving from? Is Baltimore an option? I've always found airfare lower out of Baltimore.

 

[DisneyDeb83]

We fly out of Philly all the time as we live about 20 min away in South Jersey and have never had any problems. (Probably jinxing myself for this weekend!) Friends of ours always fly out of BWI because they say it’s so much cheaper and easier. I don’t understand that because they always stay in a hotel overnight and have at least a two hour drive. I suppose it wouldn’t be bad for the way down, but having to drive back home after a long vacation for that length of time compared to 20 minutes would stink!

Also, I bet that every airport has some reputation for being horrible in one way or another, just like the airlines themselves or rental car companies. Good luck and safe travels!

 

[Dis703]

I'm about 45 minutes away from Newark and 1 1/2 hours to PHL. I virtually never fly out of Newark anymore because it's just a huge PITA IMO. Traffic, construction, even the airport. PHL is so much easier to get around. And we get much cheaper flights. Only issue I have had is one time returning there was a crazy long wait for a bus with room on it to return to our car. Since then we park at a lot across the street.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I'm from Pennsylvania originally, about 45 minutes outside of Philly. We live in Texas now and travel to PA at least once a year. For the past 6 years our luggage has gotten misplaced flying into Philly.
EACH time.
Last time all of us had our luggage lost, the time before that one of us, the time before that all of us again. Our luggage just doesn't arrive in Philly with us. We travel Southwest and unfortunately, Southwest hasn't offered a direct flight there in years. However, the luggage issue isn't Philly Airport's fault. I place the blame solely on Southwest and their baggage handlers. When we get our luggage it usually has Florida tags on it oddly enough. Why my luggage goes to Tampa and not Philly will never make sense to me.

Side note - I've never had my luggage not arrive in Texas after leaving Philly.

I travel all over the world for work and Texas to Philly is the only journey where my checked luggage has not arrived.

 

[shannie102]

3 times after a disney trip they have lost our luggage, on american and delta. We only fly out of there as my grandmother lives close so we drive 3 hours to see her the day before and after. They have never lost our luggage on the way down but 3 times on the way back- refused to drive it the 3 hours home the one time till a supervisor stepped in I am not sure I would drive 2-3 more hours if this is the closest, but i would 100% make sure your carry on has enough stuff for a few days. We keep going back when we 1) can fly out of SYR 2) want to see grandma or 3) get an amazing deal that you just cant pass up

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

Is Atlantic City International(ACY) out of your way? We've flown out of it many times in the last 10 years and have always had a pleasant experience. I don't know if there is a direct flight to Vancouver, maybe you can fly to another city and get a connecting flight.

 

[tinkerbella16]

PHL is our home airport, along with Atlantic City Int'l. We have flown in/out of Philly so many times, and we have never had any problems.