Jonesdds

I'll be flying on a monday in June YUL to LAX through PHL. My connection wasn't real long to begin with and schedule changes have chipped away a bit at it. It's 55 min right now.

I'm concerned about the amount of time as we will have to go through immigration(I do have Global Entry) and I'm assuming get our luggage and then check it back in-at least that was the process when I did the same thing through EWR last year.

Should I be concerned? Never been to PHL, could change of terminals be possible or very long walks or other transportation needed? Obviously a significant delay would pose at issue. And yes, I could either move earlier my flight from YUL or later from PHL but the aircraft on what I have booked have so much more going for them(we are booked in business class-E75 from YUL vs. the very crappy E145 and the 332 with lie flats vs. 737/A321 options).

Wonder if we did miss connections about being put on the next flight in business, monday evening PHL to LAX I'd assume isn't typically sold out on sunday afternoon, evenings but wondering-never done the route.

guv1976

YUL is a U.S. pre-clearance airport. You will not go through Customs or Immigration at PHL, and you will not claim your baggage there. Just make sure that you get to YUL sufficiently early to go through pre-clearance there.

Often1

Simply a domestic connection at PHL. It's a tight connection and I wouldn't book it, but it is within MCT.

As to reroutes, the 330 is only once per day operated as F/PE/Y. All other non-stops are single aisle with just F/Y. You will be rebooked, but if you are up front, you may have a decision to make as to whether you wait for the next flight with F space or whether you accept something in Y.

Jonesdds

Thanks, I didn't realize that. I was wrong in what I wrote earlier. I'd forgotten that it wasn't YUL to EWR, it was Quebec City, I've only flown into YUL. I'm going to risk it for better itinerary but I'm less concerned now.....

I'm assuming no terminal change or having to go back through security then?

AA100k

You may have to change terminals.

redtop43

AA operates out of the A, B, and C terminals in PHL. B and C are pretty close to each other, while A can be a bit of a walk. I'm confused what you mean about Quebec City and Newark. If you pre-clear in Canada then it's a normal domestic connection in PHL. In theory, A is the international terminal but a lot of domestic flights operate out of there too. I'm making a wild guess that they'll operate that A330 flight out of A also, just because whatever they might have to do for a larger plane, they'll have there.

I wouldn't be sweating it as long as you won't have to take the bus to/from the F (commuter) terminal, but you definitely won't. And no you won't have to go through security again.

Often1

Disregard. Had the OP departing from a non pre-clearance station.

Jonesdds

Yes, I'd assume that an E75 operating from YUL would not land in F even though technically domestic at that point. But who knows. It seems I could expect it to land at B or C then, correct? If it is F then we'd have to clear TSA again it seems?

Sorry for the confusion, I was just earlier stating that I'd thought I'd come from YUL to EWR last year and not had pre-clearance but I made a mistake, I only flew into YUL and out of Quebec City(YQR iirc) so therefore that's why I didn't remember preclearance to US as it didn't exist.

I assume Global Entry in YUL then on pre-clearance? What kind of extra time should I plan given that?

AA100k

Currently, these flights from YUL arrive at terminal F. If you take the shuttle bus you will not need to clear security however, there may be some waiting for the bus. This is not a connection time I would risk. Can you get on an earlier flight out of YUL?

aztimm

We have a very healthy thread here on the PHL airport, including connecting:
AA Guide: PHL / Philadelphia International Airport - MCT, Connection, MCT, etc.

On a personal note, I made a connection from F to B in November. The gate in F was closer to the main terminal. Rather than scramble to the bus, wait in line, etc., I took my chances and walked over to B (there is no need to re-clear security, just follow the signs). I made it in about 15 min at a steady pace, with just a backpack on my back. Yes they had started boarding, but I was there in plenty of time.
Even more surprising, my bag made the connection as well.
Originally I was to have an hour+ connection, but due to a late inbound flight, my flight into PHL was delayed about 30-45 min.

ashill

I wouldn't even consider 55 minutes terribly tight. It's essentially how the PHL operation is designed, with banks scheduled for connections roughly that long.

"Change terminals" doesn't mean much at PHL, since it's all connected airside. Some gates in A are closer to some gates in B than they are to the most distant gates in A, for example.

No, E75s do not ever land in F at PHL. And even if they did, all PHL gates are connected airside. You can either walk (airside) or take a shuttle bus from F to A/B/C.

Incorrect. It is the aircraft type, not the origin, that determines whether an aircraft lands at F or A/B/C. E75s land at A/B/C (usually B/C). The only exception is arrivals which must clear Customs. I've never been on a narrowbody or regional jet that has to clear Customs at PHL (I think YQB is the only origin where that would happen), but the passengers have to get to the Customs facility in A somehow, either by bus or by the plane parking at A. But that's irrelevant here as discussed above.

ashill

I've never done YUL (I'd check the Canada forum), but in a recent experience at YVR, it was more than 30 minutes for security and Customs/Immigration with Global Entry because they funnelled Global Entry and Nexus into the same line as non-Global Entry people. The only difference was Global Entry used a different set of kiosks, but there was no line for either the Global Entry or non-Global Entry kiosks; both had to wait in the same 15+ minute line to speak to a CBP agent after getting the slip from the kiosk. And both had the same long security line before Customs at YVR, even though we were connecting and therefore already airside, because we had to go through a shoe-removal security instead of the domestic Canada shoes-on security. But I've also walked right through in less than five minutes at YYZ.

So unfortunately I'd allot a fair amount of extra time for preclearance though you may not need it.

travellerK

There is GE in YUL. When I went through a few weeks ago, I was through the entire customs and immigration procedure in a matter of seconds (or at most minutes), but the airport was very quite then due to a snow storm that had caused most flights to be canceled