injera

Currently NYC based but in the final interview stages for an internal job change that would relocate me to the Philadelphia suburbs (Wayne, PA).

Would be a good opportunity and travel would be 10-15% of the time, a little more than what i do now. Common destinations would be Chicago, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Miami, London (and DC/Baltimore but thats amtrak).

I've had nothing but great experiences with Delta the past three years but I know their presence at PHL is small. I've had plenty a bad experience with US Air (often during my college days trying to fly HPN->PIT/PHL->STL) and am assuming that even with AA paint on the planes its still going to be the same operation it was.

If at all possible i'd love to keep my business with Delta but something tells me i'll have no choice but to be a 'hub captive' to US/AA. Would think flying PHL->DTW->PIT or PHL->ATL->RIC would get old quickly. Any thoughts on this? Anyone on here PHL based and still able to be loyal to Delta?

DHalltheway

It would help if you inform us on your priorities for choosing the airline.

It can be done flying dl if that is what you choose but you have to ask if transiting is worthwhile to you.

Many did it in the past for the extra rdm, But now that it is no longer there some revert to being a hub captive.

you have to ask if the time you spend transiting offset headaches and loss time flying direct. Or what benefit you have flying dl.

gooselee

Connecting could get old and take time, and potentially be more expensive. I recently had to do a couple trips between PHL and Chicago. DL requires a connection through ATL, CVG, or DTW and lots of extra time and opportunity for IRROPS. UA goes direct to/from ORD.

And on one such occasion, UA was about 1/4 the price of DL. Loyalty should only go so far.

waywardflf

Hello, injera. While not PHL-based, I've flown BOS-PHL three times this year, twice in the past two weeks. So, looking at the repeated PHL->BOS connections through DTW, 3/3 on time or delayed just a few minutes that my layover allowed for. (I try for at least 1 hour layover on connections and spend the time working in the SkyClub.) And speaking of the SC, PHL is small (smaller than the main terminal BOS club just opened), but even at 5:00 am the staff were cheerful and friendly. So...how do you feel about connections?

Fly safely,

waywardflf

.

CLTRob

You may want to give AA/US another try. I have flown just about monthly during 2015, both domestically and internationally, and have experienced significant improvements. I just returned from a round trip from CLT to Europe and the flights and service were great, and the food wasn't bad at all.

With that being said, going forward, I doubt that I will use AA/US for international travel as I don't want to chance being on one of their B772, B773 or B788 due to the seating configuration of 3-3-3 or 3-4-3. Also, I don't want to chance one of the B763's with very limited number of MCE seats that are positioned in the area of the lavatories and galley area.

My future plans for travel to Europe will be via a connection in the U.S. to British Airways World Traveler Plus to London. If London isn't my destination city, I'll have a double connection - one in the U.S. and another in London. At least British Airways offers one or two non stops from PHL to LHR.

So, you may consider AA/US as your domestic carrier and British Airways to London. If you decide to stay with Delta, they do fly nonstop from PHL to LHR and CDG (CDG is seasonal).

dk240t

Doesn't seem like you have much choice here.

Silver Meteor

Everybody does things different, but here is my thoughts. As a previous poster said, loyalty goes so far. I would for starters give AA/US a fair shot at Philly. Constantly connecting can get old after a while.

Now as far as Richmond, and Pittsburgh go, personally, I would just drive both. Richmond is a little over 4 hours, according to Mapquest, (and yes i know the Beltline can increase this time), and Pittsburgh is 5 hours on the turnpike. By the time you leave ahead of time for the airport, fiddle around at the airport, fly, get your car at the other end, you can be there in the car in a lot of cases, with less hassle, and not having to worrying about how to pack. Leave the house when you want to, head back home when you want to. No stress as far as getting to the airport on time. Bottom line, you have control when you drive. Go to Enterprise, get a car, and go. I am driving on business next week Atlanta to Orlando, and yes, I am driving. Trust me, a LOT less hassle.

The other Richmond option is Amtrak. Amtrak goes between Philly and Richmond a lot of times during the day.

13thandseven

On what planet is it easier to drive 7 hours Atlanta-Orlando than to fly 1 hour ATL-MCO??

To the OP's question, yes, it is feasible - but you will be connecting every time unless you are traveling to a DL hub. I lived in CLT for two years and just relocated to DC, and have maintained my DL loyalty.

ross123

i was PHL based for a number of years. They have the standard flights to their hubs (ATL, SLC, MSP, DTW, JFK) and a couple of others RDU and that's about it. For me it worked out - I never got a non-stop to my location but it was always a reasonable connection (such as PHL-SLC-SJC or PHL-MSP-YYC). It was always a morning flight to get to the client site or the last Sunday flight.

I did get hit with weather quite a bit in MSP and spent a number of nights there, and did get enough cancellations that I built up some points on UA (on the reticket from DL) but overall not a big deal.

Your situation and travel cities might work out otherwise AA is can still be a viable option.

Silver Meteor

Sorry, but most, and I do mean MOST, salespeople I know who live in Atlanta, and travel the southeast, do a lot of driving, versus messing with the Atlanta airport. Living in the outer suburbs of Atlanta, myself, and again, most people I know, leave for the airport 3 hours ahead of time. You never know about traffic, security, etc.

By the time, you leave three hours ahead of time, fly the 1 1/2 hours, get the car on the other end, you can be almost their by driving, with less cost, and less hassle. Plus, when you have to carry samples on what you are selling, you can just throw them in the trunk, versus worrying about taking samples in your luggage. There are LOTS of advantages!

Other advantages of driving, you can stop and see customers in both directions as needed.

CLTRob

Just curious, what cities did you mostly travel to, on DL, when you lived in CLT? Were they DL hub or non-hub cities? If non-hub, did you mostly hop down to ATL for a connection? I have done this myself; however, sometimes I travel with others who don't like going south 37 minutes to head back north, like CLT-ATL-PHL.

pk45cu

I used to live near Wayne (Ardmore and then Paoli) in the mid-noughties and avoided US as much as possible, their operation was a joke. I flew mostly UA, UA*/US and even connected via ORD vs. a US non-stop. My destinations were mostly west coast.

Despite all that, given the improvement in operations these days and the shorthaul nature of your travels, recommend AA/US. You will tire of the connections soon, especially on shorthaul.

DiscoPapa

Yes...

paterwdb

Anyone who has fought the I-95 hell along with the beltway knows that traffic could destroy this trip far worse than a thunderstorm in ATL. Never worth the gamble to try to drive. And Amtrak is always a good idea in theory, but rarely is it as smooth as it should be.

I'd fly RIC-PHL every time, even if I had to take US.

injera

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I guess first and foremost I've gotta get this job (and probably should focus more on next week's interview than FF alliance). I figured i have no other choice but to switch to US/AA, i'm hoping they can't be thaaat bad, but for a 2 hour meeting it makes no sense to connect. (leave phl at 7, arrive pit at 8, meeting from 9-11, 1pm flight back to PHL, home by 230-3 OR take Delta and have to fly out the night before).