My wife and daughter (2-year old) will soon be travelling to India, and will be transiting PHL in both directions connecting with LH to/from FRA.

Outbound, how difficult is the transfer from the F-gates to the LH gate at PHL? Looks like a bus ride will be involved, will it be a big hassle as they will have carry-ons plus a stroller? Any serious walking required? My wife can't walk for long distances easily, and this will be her first trip with daughter without me along to do the heavy lifting, so I'm a little worried. They'll have over 3.5 hours for transit, so time shouldn't be a factor.

Plus, with all the horror stories I've heard about baggage at PHL, how is the 'success rate' for US-LH transfer? They have an onward connection from FRA, and I dread the thought of them having to deal with LH baggage upon arrival in India if something doesn't make it (LH point fingers at US and vice-versa, customs hassles with delayed baggage, etc.)

On the return, how is the transfer from LH to US? How smoothly is the process after customs to re-deposit bags for onward travel? Will TSA demand bags stay unlocked or can they be present for the screening and get them locked before continuing on? (They WILL be locked from departure in India until arrival at PHL, as India has intelligent baggage screening procedures to reduce likelihood of theft, unlike TSA).

Will they have to re-clear security in PHL along with regular domestic departing pax, or is there a dedicated security check after customs for arriving international pax (like UA at IAD)?

On the return, they have 2:15 between flights, will that be adequate time to clear immigration/customs/security and get to F-gates, or is that cutting it close? If they miss their onward flight, it's 4 hours till the next one, and that's a LONG time to have to wait with a toddler who's already been travelling for 20 hours!

In case anyone asks, this is on a *A award booking, and so flight options were limited. I would have preferred booking UA via IAD but nothing was available. Similarly, I wanted to have the transatlantic sectors on LH, because US-LH or UA-LH transfer at FRA can involve a LOT of walking, and that was not acceptable, so I was limited to PHL or IAD, CLT was not an option.

Thanks!