US Airways and Philadelphia - A plan needed

Here are maps of Philly airport. International departures are from A, East and West.

I'm pretty sure when I flew from Denver to PHL in Oct. 2007, we arrived in Concourse 3 of Terminal F and my flight out was from A-West. That's about as far apart as you can get at Philly. I had four hours and made it to A-West with hours to spare. One nice thing about Philly is it's all one security zone. I came in to Terminal F and walked all the way to Terminal A without having to go through security (not true coming in from Europe).

According to the airport's map, there is a shuttle bus from Terminal F (but not from E) to A-East. If you came into Terminal E, it might be worth it to walk back to F and take the shuttle. From Terminal D, I think I would walk.

ETA: Looking at the map, it looks like USAir uses Terminals B, C, and F, so you'll either be within not-too-far walking distance, or near the shuttle.

Good Luck, Warren but you should be able make the connection easily because you won't have to clear customs, security, etc.

Flighttracker.com should show your arrival Terminal a couple of days before the flight departs.

I transferred in Philadelphia to a flight going to Paris and had no problem at all. It was very easy to find the int'l terminal (I remember walking a bit, but not as long as other airports).

I checked luggage and got it fine in Paris. 2 hours is plenty of time

I returned this week from something very similar and had no trouble arriving or departing from Philly. On the way out, we only had an hour and 20 minutes to make our connecting flight but it was no problem at all. I still don't like the airline or the airport, but it worked fine for us this time. The worst arrival gate would be F, but from my understanding, on US Airways Express flights arrive there. if you're taking one of those, it might be a hike, but pretty much from any of the others it's a doable, if brisk, walk. You should be fine.

The main problem with a transfer in Philly ordinarily is checked bags, IMO. A couple of years ago they had a major systemic failure of the baggage handling system that lasted most of the summer (although I think that's been fixed). With carryon and 2+ hours you should be fine. There is a shuttle from the remote gates (the most remote is for commuter service and RJs - probably not applicable to you, coming in from DEN).

Two hours on a return, including customs/immigration, would be cutting it close. If you check bags (sometimes I check on the homeward legs when I carry-on on the way out) they may get home the next day.

"the most remote is for commuter service and RJs".

As I said earlier, in 2007 I flew from Denver to Philly, into Terminal F. Was I on a commuter service from Denver? Or do they just make use of the gates they have?

I flew US Airways from Denver to Philly in Dec 08. It wasnt until after I bought my cheap tickets that I started hearing horror stories about both the airport and airline I was going to be using.

I had absolutely no issues as my flight from Denver left on time and I had 3 hours until my connection to Heathrow. I had checked luggage that made it all the way through to Heathrow with no issues.

Let me express that on the way back you will need at least 2 to 3 hours to make your connection because on my way BACK from Heathrow to Philly (for connection to Denver) I got in exactly on time to Philly with 2 hours to connect. I got through customs and everything else, then went to get to my terminal to catch the flight to Denver, and by the time I got to my terminal, people were already lined up to board.

Definately map out the terminals each way because that was one of the biggest issues since the airport is so big.

I really doubt it can be stress free, but I always focus on the trip im taking so it negates the stress and I actually love airports because it means I'm going somewhere!

Keep in mind that I arrived ON TIME to Philly, so there was not a delay. It was just a huge airport and extremely busy with customs, etc!

As I said earlier, in 2007 I flew from Denver to Philly, into Terminal F. Was I on a commuter service from Denver? <<

Might have been on an RJ; I wasn't there. What I do know is that that concourse F doesn't have jetways that will reach up to a full-size jet. It's a single story building with little jetways that are just high enough off the ground to reach RJs. Commuter passengers have to walk outside to get to their plane. Maybe you're mistaken about what terminal you used?

Here's an aerial view of Concourse f:
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qnd3808qx6yw&scene=35788951&lvl=1&sty=b&where1=Philadelphia%20International%20Airport%2C%20PA

"Maybe you're mistaken about what terminal you used?"

Absolutely not! I remember too many "landmarks" of the (long) walk. Like the right turn from Concourse 3 to Concourse 1. There's a food shop in the inside of the turn. I bought a sandwich there (Philly Cheesesteak, I think) and ate it at the hub where the concourses join.

I also remember the "jog" in the route at the end of Terminal D, so I had to be coming from E or F. According to airport info, USAir does not currently use Terminal E.

I think the plane was full sized. I was sitting in the middle seat in three across seating on the LH side, in a row with extra legroom. Does that sound like a RJ? I don't remember not using the jetway. But this was almost three years ago (Oct. 2007), so maybe they have changed some of the jetways since then.

My return flight to Denver did leave from one of the terminals (B or C) opposite the food courts (C, I think),

Just checked my reservations and we are travelling on an airbus A321.

I just want to repeat what just happened to my wife and I in Philly in the last couple of weeks.

For our outbound flight we had a hour and 20 for our transfer, and I just had time to grab a burger before they called our seats. We walked briskly on the moving escalators, and only had to go from Terminal C to AWest, but barely made our outgoing connection. 1 hr 20 is tight for a US transfer, but I would allow 3 hrs for a return transfer from overseas!

When we flew in from Rome on US Air we had to go thru 4 Customs/ TA checks. We had 2 hrs, 10 min to make our connecting flight. The first one took over 1 hour! Then we had to go find our luggage, and then take it thru the next check. Then there were two more TA boarding checks. Again we were only going from A to C, but we were one of the last people to board our flight! The only way we made it was because we flagged down a passing electric cart and got a ride directly to our gate.

All fights were on US Air, with checked luggage.

thanks for the reply's. I guess I just have to wait to see which terminal we are flying in and make appropriate plans.

I checked USAir connections from Denver to Philly for about now, and they are flying an Airbus (320?). If Terminal F now only handle smaller jets, and USAir doesn't use D & E, then you should be coming into B or C. You can easily do that in 2 hours (assuming your flight arrives on time).

Your post had me thinking about my connection to Italy. I checked my US Airways flight itinerary and saw that we will be using terminals A & B. Should be no problems. I have a minimum three hours connect time both ways.

Looks like my estimate for 2-3 hours for a connection when coming back is a good idea.

I've had the same experience as Tami. No issues outbound, but VERY slow customs coming back--it took us the whole 2 hour layover to get through and get to our plane back to Seattle. US Air sometimes offers amazing deals if you book far ahead which is why we have done this flight twice.

This thread had me worried last week when I read it as I was about to fly US Air thru Philly to Montreal. Happy to report that everything worked perfectly. Only had 1 hour between my Denver-Philly flight to make the connection to the flight to Montreal, but it was more than enough time. I also got a cheesesteak. (Mmm). Denver to Philly I was on an Airbus A319 and landed in terminal C. My connecting flight was in terminal B, so that might be some of the reason for the quick change. I also did not have any checked luggage. I believe they were announcing the international flights out of Terminal F. Apparently Canada isn't considered "international". Note: Coming in from the west, the people on the right side of the plane got a view of downtown, the sports complex etc. On the left, I only got a view of a power station.

I have been following this thread just out of interest since I'm from Philly. I never knew our Airport was such a pain in the a**!! ;)

I have attached a copy of the web link for the Map of the airport/terminals and a copy of the web link for all the food/shops located in each terminal:

http://www.phl.org/terminal_map.html

http://www.philamarketplace.com/files/client_files/091/19/2010_Directory.pdf

Sorry, I do not know how to add a link.

I hope this helps a little bit and that everyone's flights workout!!! ;)

To create links, read this.

BTW, when you insert a link, always try it after posting. There's nothing more annoying than a link that doesn't work.

"since I'm from Philly" you've probably never had to change planes there.

Thanks Lee!!

No, I haven't...lol!

I'm probably a little late to this topic but here was my experience.

Terminal A handles most (all?) of US Airways International Flights. It is very nice and the Envoy lounge is very large (if you have access to it, need either an Envoy class ticket or have Star Alliance Gold Status).

Out bound from the USA is usually easy. Coming back to the US requires going through customs/security which can be troublesome and requires going to another Terminal. In my case it was Terminal B which is old and dirty (a dump comes to mind).

I had 2 hrs between connections (returning from Brussels and connection to a flight to PHX) but we got delayed briefly and touched down with less than 1:40 minutes to my flight. I only had carry on bags.

Since I was one of the first people off the plane I went through everything in less than 15 minutes. There was no lines at security and customs. I'd imagine the rest of the people behind me probably took longer as the line forms.

Since you DO have to go through security again remember to toss any water you may have received on the flight. I didn't realize I would have to do the whole security thing (shoes off, etc.) and had several bottles of water/soda in my bag that security took.

Personally if I had checked bags and had to reclaim them I would have some concerns with a 2 hr connecting time, especially if you are near the back of the plane or hit customs at a busy time.

Hi Warren. I really hope your experience with US Airways at Philadelphia will be a lot better than mine was! In August 2007 my friend and I were flying from Chicago to Manchester, England with a connection in Philadelphia. Our flight from Chicago was late to Philadelphia and when it arrived, we sat on the tarmac for 30-45 minutes. The airline told us in Chicago that we could only bring one carry-on bag each so we checked our suitcases (1 each - we know how to travel!). (The suitcases were also carry-on size.) In Philadelphia, we had to run for our flight to Manchester along with 3 other people from our flight from Chicago. We all made the plane right before it left.

When we got to Manchester, the 5 of us discovered that our luggage didn't make it. We filled out claim forms and went our separate ways. My friend and I were in Europe for 2 weeks and we never got our luggage back until we were back in Manchester at the end of the trip, returning to the U.S. We called US Airways once a day for the first 3 days of our trip (in Paris) and everyone we talked to told us a different story: "Your luggage will arrive tonight." "You should have received your luggage by now; your file is closed."

We missed our train from Manchester to London and then we missed our flight from London to Paris. Those transportation issues alone cost us $200, never mind the clothes and other necessities we had to buy.

We flew through Philadelphia from Manchester on our way back to Chicago and the same thing happened: the plane was late to Philadelphia, we had to run for our connecting flight (after picking up our bags from baggage claim and checking them again), and we made it but our luggage didn't. This time it took US Airways only 5 days to get my luggage to me in St. Louis from Philadelphia.

They only offer $75/day for the first 3 days of travel in compensation for lost items, even if it was their fault.

I'm never flying them again.