Originally Posted by
jagadheep
I'm really serious. That doesn't mean that luggage gets lost permanently, but a higher than normal fraction of luggage doesn't make it to the connecting flight at PHL. So, if transiting through PHL, pack essentials in your carry-on so that if your checked baggage doesn't make it, you can still survive for a couple of days.
And I will second the suggestion of flying a European rather than American carrier if you have a choice.
PHL is way better with baggage than even a couple of years ago. If you look at the stats, US is similar to UA, DL in terms of lost baggage. In other words, these days there's no need to worry about lost baggage compared to the other US based carriers. PHL has had massive improvements in the last 2 years.