I watch prices out of PHL pretty carefully, and I compare them with EWR and the WAS airports. PHL is consistently cheaper than IAD, almost across the board. Most of the time, PHL is cheaper than EWR if traveling on UA. I can't say that I've directly compared BWI more than a handful of times, but I've never ended up flying out of there. I've only checked ABE a couple times, but it has always been more expensive.
Originally Posted by
PHLstudent
Whenever I book travel I always look at prices from PHL, EWR, and BWI and PHL always seems to be the cheapest option of the 3. Both EWR and BWI are very easy to get to though (amtrak from 30th st station). I like flying from BWI it is very quiet, no dealing with southwest traffic, fast lines etc. The only thing that annoys me is adding the extra 1.5 -2 hours of time needed to get to BWI or EWR, as well as extra cost of the train.
This is a reasonable strategy, but be sure to take into account the cost of the train and your time. The train is far from cheap, adding nearly $100 to the price of your trip.
It all comes down to cost. If you really dislike PHL, decide how much you dislike it in dollar terms, then compare other options. But especially for MRing purposes, I don't think you'll find many purely cheaper options (see PDX and SMF pricing for basically all of last year, and PDX pricing right now).