PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 12
November 2009 : by R King
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
Very poor airport. You can arrive 2 hours before your flight and still not make it to your
plane. I think much of the problem is US Air which chronically understaffs its check-in
areas. The TSA screening stations are also understaffed and move very slowly. At PHL, flight
information for airlines other than USAir are not posted on the information monitors! My
recent flight using AA an example. Flight information is often not posted at the gate check
in desks, the gate information on the monitors is often incorrect or not updated. Not nearly
enough seats for people to sit on while waiting for flights. Other problems with PHL - poor
signage within the airport, poor signage as to how to enter and exit the airport and get to
the parking lots, and generally disorganized drop-off and pickup areas. The food prices inside
the airport are not too bad however.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 17 June 2009 : by B Peters
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
A generally pretty airport, but deceivingly big and at times incredibly overcrowded.
Depending on the time of day, you may need three hours (if you walk fast) to connect
international to domestic, and at least an hour and a half to connect domestic to
international or domestic to domestic (walking times to international terminal A can easily be
half an hour from terminal D, again if you walk fast). Average taxi times hit 45 minutes to
an hour at peak travel times (5 am - 8:30 am and 3:30 pm to 6 pm), so never expect your flight
to be completely on time.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 20 March 2009 : by Simon Channon
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Customer Rating : 5/5 |  |
A breeze - the best gateway I've experienced into the US. Lots of immigration desks open and
the officer processing my wife and myself even had a sense of humour! Security checks
reasonably quick, too. The airport is well laid out and decently signed - even though it's a
long walk from Terminal B to Terminal A.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 10 March 2009 : by G Lee
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Our recent departure from Terminal D turned out to be relatively hassle-free. Thanks to TSA's
new and improved checking lanes at Connector D-E, the lines were much shorter than we had
expected. And we found the staff on duty to be more courteous too. Our UA flight left very
early in the morning -- perhaps things could get more difficult during the peak hours .
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 17
February 2009 : by Bill Atkins
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
I must amend my January review - Philadelphia has gone back in time and the whole
international to domestic transfer was every bit as awful as it used to be. Chaotic waiting
lines, rude TSA with lots of shouting - just a general mess.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 5
February 2009 : by Adam Morris
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Customer Rating : 5/5 |  |
PHL must have done some work because my experience were far from the nightmares I have heard.
Coming in from PIT going to JAX the walk from C to A is a bit of a long one but got to our
gate at C. Found out our flight was delayed but the gate agents were very helpful. Many food
options.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 27 January 2009 : by J Segal
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Connected from terminal A to terminal C. Could this walk be any longer? Felt bad for people
that needed help- heard a cart driver tell a pax 'that their cart could not go to another
concourse' - isn't that what they are there for? Plenty of stores and food, and the terminals
are nice.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 6
January 2009 : by Bill Atkins
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Customer Rating : 5/5 |  |
Philadelphia has been transformed - not sure if partially because of less travellers, but it
is most welcome for whatever reason. Arrived on BA recently and within 7 minutes of leaving
the plane (I was first off) I was sitting in my car in the (very expensive) terminal parking.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 24 December 2008 : by D Shapiro
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Not too bad, but I refer to Terminal F in Philly (and Concourse F at O'Hare) as the Twilight Zone
terminals. Dirty and it feels like you are out somewhere away from everything else. The only
reason I like flying in and out of Philly is if they cancel my flight (again!), I can rent a car,
drive home, and then return to pick up my car and baggage from Allentown! On the upside - we landed
without nose gear and the emergency crews were great!
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 12 November 2008 : by J Callaghan
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Flew in and out this week with US Airways from Dublin. Dublin Immigration pre-clearance was great.
On arrival in Philly, we were ushered past immigration and straight out. I have never seen it so
easy. Baggage trolleys were three dollars each but they machine does take credit cards. On our
flight back, the check-in clerk was a little unhelpful but did his job. Security for Terminal A
took about 5 minutes and they were pleasant and to the point. No problems there. The whole
airport was very clean and well organised. It was a fair walk to our gate, A6, but again this was
not a problem. I like Philly and it was quite reasonable for food - unlike Dublin !
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 6
November 2008 : by N Chester
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Customer Rating : 5/5 |  |
After having read some comments about PHL was worried when travelling through PHL on way from
Manchester UK to Las Vegas on US Airways. However, no need to have worried. The transfer was a
wonderful experience. The airport is very comfortable, the security and immigration staff excellent
and it took just 25 minutes from the aircraft reaching the gate to being through immigration and
customs and inside the terminal.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 27 August 2008 : by Bill Atkins
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
From two recent experiences, I am pleased to see that there has been a great improvement in the
Int'l/domestic transfer in Terminal A. It has been re-organized, so lines are not as long and there
has clearly been a re-arrangement of the TSA attitude, which makes the experience very much more
pleasant.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 7 August 2008 : by J Hamilton
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Flew to Orlando via Philadelphia from the UK at the beginning of July '08. We got into Philly
around 1800hrs local time and went straight through Homeland Security without waiting. There are
quite a few shops to browse in whilst you are waiting for your connecting flight and the pick up and
transfer of our luggage was seamless - no lost bags here! I would fly through this airport again, I
didn't experience any unpleasant staff and all my luggage made it there and back in one piece.
PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT review : 11 July 2008 : by Paula Hutchins
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
I've only been through this airport once, and they were in the middle of renovating. It was very
disorganized with long lines and lots of waiting. I had 4 hours between flights and I barely made
the connecting flight. I came off an international flight and then waited almost an hour in line
just to have my passport checked. Then it took 2 hours to pick up my baggage and recheck it. The
line was incredibly long. When one man asked the personnel if he could go ahead of the others
because his flight was in 15 minutes, the lady told him she didn't care, but he'd have to ask the
other passengers. Of course that led to chaos as he tried to manuever his way through the entire
line asking permission from every person. And when other people saw that, they wanted to do that
too. And then the other passengers started getting irritated and wouldn't let anybody in front (and
rightly so). The only part that wasn't chaos was agricultural customs, and that's because there
were about 3 people including me in this line. I would only fly through here again if i absolutely
had to. The staff was ok, no one was outright rude, but there were too many irritated people and
not enough space, and no it wasn't Christmas or any other high-traffic season.
Philadelphia Airport review by Bill Atkins
23 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
Sad to say after my experience on April 13, Philadelphia still merits a negative review. Came in on
international - very quick immigration as no other plane being processed at the time. Had only hand
baggage - PHL does a lousy job of luggage so I always try to travel without check-ins. As always,
security was like the descent into hell - rude, lazy employees yelling at everyone and basically
making the whole process much harder than it needs to be - which is about the same story as every
other airport in the US. For an airport so recently modernized everything looks dirty and run-down.
Clearly very badly managed and no pride on the part of the employees.
Philadelphia Airport review by L Becque
19 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
The worst airport in the USA for losing your baggage or bags not making your connecting flight.
Baggage problems are especially bad if you are connecting through a commuter / small plane out of
Terminal F. I fly almost every week and Philadelphia is the only airport where I have had this
problem. Last year they lost my bag at least twice, once for 3-4 days. The other issue is that the
Terminal F flights can experience much worse flight delays than the big planes. I've experienced
2-4 hour delays due to incoming flight delays stacking up on top of outgoing delays. This last
Friday I told them to put me in a hotel overnight rather than waiting 3 hours to leave and arriving
at my destination at 3am. They couldn't divert my bag but I said that was OK - my bag didn't arrive
till the next morning anyway so if I had taken the late flight the previous night I would have been
missing my bag anyway!
Philadelphia Airport review by Bill Atkins
21 February 2008 Customer Rating : 
What is it about the TSA in PHL? They are hard to deal with in most US airports, but in Philly it
seems their aim in life is to slow the airport experience as much as possible and enhance it with a
generous dose of rudeness. All the shouting and marshalling of passengers makes it feel like animals
in a slaughterhouse.
Philadelphia Airport review by William Kelly
18 October 2007 Customer Rating : 
Living in the Detroit area, my business and family trips to Philadelphia are always via Northwest
Airlines, which practically has a monopoly in Detroit. In PHL, the terminal that Northwest uses is
narrow, horribly crowded, sorely in need of serious upgrades. Worse still, the TSA area is very
narrow, crowded and obviously temporary, consisting of painted plywood walls and serpentine cattle
chute lines. Lines at this terminal's TSA almost always back up down the long corridor connecting the
terminal with baggage claim and the parking garage. On my last trip (early Oct 2007), I had to wait
in line 35 minutes to clear security. At this location, TSA personnel like to shout directions at
passengers, all of which is totally unnecessary and adds to passenger stress and confusion, mainly
because most passengers can't hear what is being said amid the background noise. While connected to
the other terminals, for some reason PHL doesn't permit passengers to move around. If you arrive
early and want a better selection of restaurants than the terrible ones on offer at the terminal used
by Northwest, PHL forces you to go through TSA twice! A major construction project is now underway
and, when completed in 2008, may cause me to redo my review. For now, there isn't a lot to recommend.
Philadelphia Airport review by Edgar Fedorkao
28 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
PHL can be a pleasant to travel through but not always. Traffic on the taxiways can lead to long
delays on the ground when your waiting to depart the runway. The facilities are updated yet cramped
and there are plenty of food and shopping selections. Using Atlantic City, BWI, or Newark may fair
better in the future but for now, I'm sticking with PHL.
Philadelphia Airport review by Steve Maier
9 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
Philly has improved a lot. It is still the most crowded of all airports, but security waiting time was
improved since I flew last. What I liked most is the new Business Lounge of US Airways in Terminal 1A.
Large and open, nice seating and good food. If only the planes would be half as good as the lounge, US
Air would be a nice choice. What I like also about Philly is the nice shopping and food court in the C
concourse.
Philadelphia Airport review by A Johnson
9 August 2007 Customer Rating : 
During peak times, the narrow concourses and insufficient seating areas become clogged with
passengers. Walking between concourses takes a while. Not all concourses are connected both airside
and landside, which often requires you to walk outdoors to go to another terminal. Queues for TSA
grow quite long at peak times, and since there isn't much room for people to wait near the
checkpoints, the queues snake back down the corridors toward the ticket counters. PHL has only two
parallel runways, which are insufficient for a major domestic hub and increasingly popular low fare
destination, especially when bad weather hits. Even when the weather is perfect though, delays can
quickly stack up.
Philadelphia Airport review by Olivier Fernandez
27 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
All the US Airways flight must be landing within a 2 hour window not
counting AF, LH and BA flights. Therefore, the passport control took
over 2 hours if you landed between 02:30PM to 04:30PM A nightmare... add
another 45 minutes to 60 minutes for security check. Please do allow 3
hours in between your connecting flights.
Philadelphia Airport review by Peter Roozemaal
23 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
Used PHL yesterday for a BA flight PHL-LHR-AMS. Facilities on the land
side of terminal A-west checkin could be better. I went to international
arrivals for a seat and a cup of tea to pass the time till BA counters
would open. Facilities in the A (international) terminal are good,
sufficient seating, selection of restaurants and shops. TSA check was
certainly not worse than at other US airports (they say "please"
nowadays). I like the Philly "one terminal" concept.
Philadelphia Airport review by David Guenthner
30 June 2007 Customer Rating : 
The ticketing and baggage claim areas were cramped and outdated, and the
baggage claim for my airline (Southwest) was in a different terminal
than where my flight arrived. The line for security extended back into
the skybridge connecting the terminal to the parking garage. Terminal
food selections were mediocre although not too horribly overpriced by
airport standards. Passenger lounges mediocre. There is a train that
connects the airport to downtown, but its primary passengers appeared to
be airport employees. On my train to downtown, the air conditioning
unit was soaking the first three rows. The worst part about
Philadelphia is that, despite its status as a major low-fare hub and
international entry point, it only has two runways for commercial
service. If there is any kind of bad weather - as happened the morning
I flew home - the flight delays just compound. When I left for the
airport three hours before my scheduled departure, my flight was
supposed to leave 30 minutes late. When I got to the airport, the delay
had increased to 70 minutes. Once the delay got bumped to three hours -
- meaning that I would be stuck in Nashville overnight if I got out of
Philly - they re-routed me through Chicago. However, that meant
switching concourses - and having to go through another clogged TSA
checkpoint. I didn't even have time to re-tie my shoes before having to
run onto the jetbridge of my new flight. The next time I have to go to
Philadelphia on business, I'm flying to Baltimore and taking a train.
Philadelphia Airport review by David Thornton
29 March 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
Flew into PHL from MAN (US Airways) then connected to RSW. Have to
disagree with previous comments. One of the most efficient American
airports I have visited. Through immigration, baggage and customs in 15
minutes. Easy connection (on foot rather than train or bus) to Terminal
C. Return just as easy. Good food and shopping options. Significantly
better experience than ATL, LAX or JFK - would travel via PHL again.
Philadelphia Airport review by Bill Atkins
20 March 2007
A third world country could be proud of this airport. Every aspect is
wrong and reflects apalling managment. Arrived from overseas - only one
INS agent for all US citizens - at least this delay meant that we were
not waiting in the baggage hall as long - an hour in PHL is not unusual.
Toilets all disgusting. Employess surly and inactive - mostly standing
around in groups talking, which is presumable why the bags take so long
and the toilets are dirty - no-one seems in any way accountable for what
they are paid to do. The city of Philadelphia should be ashamed of this
place as the first aspect of their city many people see.
Philadelphia Airport review by Kuhan Kandiah
26 January 2007
Although there was a terrible delay on my flight out of this airport
while on transit, I managed to study a little of Terminal F and I think
it was a great terminal with several bookshops, cafes and toilets.
However, it lacked internet facilities such as an internet kiosk which
can be handy when on delay such as my flight.
Philadelphia Airport review by David Stein
18 July 2006
Having flown out of Philadelphia International Airport for many years to
both domestic and international destinations, I have noticed many
improvements. If you arrive up to2 hours early, check in is painless
and takes all of 10 minutes. I found security no more or less crowded
than in other airports. Access to the airport by train is a wonderful
convenience. There is room for improvement The baggage areas can use
substantial upgrading and sections of the airport seem like they are
under construction. PHL is not a beautiful ultra modern airport but is
very practical and user friendly.
Philadelphia Airport review by Mark Arnold
8 July 2006
I've used PHL several times now, on flights to and from MAN with US
Airways. I could not disagree more with the previous correspondents. The
route from the gate to the Homeland Security desks was very swift, as
they all are from A West. The Security was very swift; no stupid
questions or anything silly. On my return to MAN the folks at check in
were very polite and very, very quick. The TSA were, well, TSA, but they
could have been a lot worse (have you flown international into SEA or
DFW lately?) . The US Airways exec lounge was a cash bar though which
was a shock and a major downer.
Philadelphia Airport review by Dorothy Tonks
3 February 2006
Having been a resident of NJ for 30+ years and traveling all over the
country using both Newark Airport and Philadelphia airport, I always
wondered why everything was always so much more difficult dealing with
the employees at Philadelphia airport. Now having moved away but still
flying in to Philadelphia because of the convenience to where I am
going, I find everything remains the same. The nickname City of
Brotherly Love sure didn't come going and coming through the airport.
Security employees both inside and the police outside are horrible.
What's the saying about a give someone a little power and it goes to
their head? I now have the opportunity to travel quite a bit and there
is nothing that can compare with the utter disregard for decent
treatment of the people that use the airport in Philadelphia to the
many airport facilities within the US lumped all together.
I have no problem going through the security checks, taking off my
shoes, my coat and following the rules, but for someone to go through
that because some big strong man has a power complex or a bad day!
Whoever is responsible for these employees should be ashamed.
I know the public can be rude, but do employees have to take their
frustrations out on those who are not.
Philadelphia Airport review by Richard Walder
5 December 2005
I have to say, that using PHL for the first time, it was appallling.
We arrived on a US aIr flight from LGW and had a connecting US Air
flight to SFO later in the afternoon. Arrival after a 9+ flight was on
time, but chaos ensued from the moment we left the aircraft. Poor
signs, cramped walkways and little info. Immigration was, I must say
painless and efficiently handled by a friendly officer, and only a short
queue, but as to getting our luggage & the changeover to internal flight
was painful. After depositing our luggage, we then found we had to go
through another security check, why, we had already been through two
very good checks at LGW. The line was about half a mile long, moving
slowly and even the staff trying to administer this chaos admitted it
was ridiculous. We were lucky we had nearly three hours connection, but
other poor people stood no chance to get through this connection and
security. Why have only two or three machines working and being
ridiculous about shoes off, belts off and then a full slow personal body
search by a very unfriendly security guard, while all your property is
just left lying around unattended at the end of the conveyor belt.
This needs to be improved for international passengers who have already
been through proven efficient security checks in Europe. Getting
between terminals might be good if you want, or indeed need the shops,
but after a 9+ hours transatlantic flight a mile walk seems very hard
work. More moving walkways would help or a "buggy shuttle service".
Returning to LGW, from SFO via PHL was even more painful. The US AIr
flight landed on time, but was held for over 40 minutes on the taxiway,
due to terminal congestion and when we eventually got off the flight we
only had minutes to make the long, long trek to the international gate.
No help from US Air ground staff, not interested in advising the other
gate staff we were on our way, despite asking specifically. After
walking quickly about half way to our gate, I managed to stop an empty buggie and asked the friendly woman driver if there was a chance in
getting dropped at our gate as we were rushing to make the connection.
She willingly obliged and we made our connection, just, as last
passengers boarding. Our luggage did not make it, but followed us to
England 24 hours later. Having rushed to board, we then left the gate
on time, to sit in traffic on the taxiways and waste nearly an hour
before finally taking off. I would not make plans to use PHL again for
any trips to the USA where connections were concerned based on these two
experiences, preferring other hubs who seem from our experience to
handle transatlantic and domestic flights much more efficiently. Shame
as it looks a pleasant modern airport, what we did see of it.
Philadelphia Airport review by Doug Mitchell
29 October 2005
The previous comments deserve an "amen." Why can't this attitude be
changed? It's such a pervasive, enduring thread throughout 2 years of
passengers' commentaries. Specifically, we arrived from Paris via
USAirways about 5:00 PM Monday, Oct 24, along with many other flights -
hundreds of incoming passengers coming through customs. Beautiful
Terminal A had a large walkway toward all other terminals, but
inexplicably it was blocked off. NO signs, instructions or personnel to
direct anyone to any other terminal! The only available path was to 3
elevators which opened to the multi-level parking lot. We trekked about
3 blocks distance to the far end, to entry to TSA security, as if we had
come in from outside the airport. Once we recleared TSA (with attitudes
displayed just as described in other commentaries), we gained access to
Terminals B-F. If I had not previously visited this airport, especially
if a non-US person, I would have been completely disoriented, without a
clue. What is wrong with this the management of this place, that
permits the only pathway to other gates to be closed without an
identified alternative?!
Philadelphia Airport review by M Bolivar
24 October 2005
Really clean airport. Easy to move through the different terminals.
Horrible lines waiting for customs, specially when a few flights arrive
at the same time. I was not lucky at all with the officer, and despite
of being european and student, I had to wait in line for a long time,
and then go through a really unnecessary questionnaire with an
immigration officer in his office, specially taking into account that I
was in transit to Canada. Obsessive security, so much that they could
even open your luggage, and if you have christmas presents in it, you
will find them opened at home when you will arrive, without the
envelope, nice surprise, thanks to the National Security Agency.
Pretty fast baggage claim. Terminal A is really clear and full of
services, what it doesn't happen at all in Terminal F, used by US
Airways Shuttle. Small terminal, uncomfortable seats, dark and total
lack of anything interesting in it.
Philadelphia
Airport by P Walker
29
August 2005
The 100% no-smoking policy may sound like a great idea, but what it really gets you
is irritated passengers (especially if there's a long delay) and toilets that smell
like ashtrays. Where's the harm in ventilated smoke rooms? Every other airport I've
been to has them.
Philadelphia
Airport by Sue Mattingly
22
August 2005
I live near PHL and agree completely with everyone here who said that PHL employees
are the worst in the universe. I can deal with delayed flights and lost baggage
fairly well, but the rude staff just takes the cake. There is nobody around to help
if you have a problem - and if you fly out of or into philly, you'll have a problem.
The staff act like they're on some kind of a power trip, they purposely withhold
information; they are intentionally vague and they are consistently rude with
customers. This airport is always understaffed. It is as if they are scraping the
bottom of the barrel in order to get people to work there and the worse the employees
get, the worse the employees they attract. Employees driving those stupid carts
practically run people down and they act like people are stupid for not hearing their
dumb little cart bell in a crowded airport with people speaking over a loud speaker.
Employees at the "special services" ticket counter are more interested in gossip and
personal affairs than dealing with the customers who have had their flights
cancelled. You go to the counter and get ignored until the clerk is "good and ready"
to deal with you. And don't for a minute speak up and start asking a question before
you're addressed or you can count on a solid, "I'll get to you in a second" every
time along with futher lollygagging until they're good and ready to deal with you.
And they don't even deal with the problem correctly. They'll put you on a flight and
forget to put your luggage on the same flight. Or they'll say they put you on a
flight, only to find out that they have it overbooked or something. At this airport,
everybody from security to the parking attendants are rude - there's just no getting
around it. This airport really needs to clean up it's act with respect to the people
they hire and how they manage and train their employees. There is no excuse for
rudeness like that.
Philadelphia
Airport by Gareth Bronkhorst
8
August 2005
I have travelled through PHL about 4 times now, and to be honest, I have to admit
that is a very nice airport. Unfortunately the Immigration, Customs and Security officials are the
rudest human beings I have ever met in my entire life, but apart from that I really like airport.
It has a very good range of shops and a good food hall.
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