Hi Everyone. I'm on a 4:15 PM flight on Continental from PHX to EWR next Wed.

Last time I flew out of PHX, I flew US Air and waited about an hour and a quarter on the security line at about noontime.

Now, I know that US Air flies from Terminal 4 which is much much bigger than Terminal 2, where CO flies from. I'm also wondering if that long wait might have been a fluke.

I guess my question is should I expect to wait that long for a CO flight at PHX? Normally, I'd feel comfortable returning my rental car about 100-120 minutes before takeoff. But if the security lines are going to be 75 minutes, I should probably return the rental 2.5 hours before takeoff.

Anyone have any suggestion for when to arrive to return the rental?

Thanks.

Welcome to Flyertalk, sh76us
I am certain that our Continental Frequent Fliers will be able to assist you. Therefore, I am moving your thread to the CO Forum for discussion.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

I have never waited more than 15 minutes to go through security at peak times at PHX in T2. However, I do have status, so can cut the line a bit. If you have no CO status, then you might have a bit more of a wait, but at that time of day, it's pretty light.

The lines are not very bad @ T-2. I too have status, which cuts the wait to almost nothing, but I've never seen an oppressive wait for the standard line either. That said, oddities happen, people get detained, lines get bogged down, etc . . . so leave yourself plenty of time just in case something out of the ordinary happens. To quantify it, I'd expect a 15 minute security line and double that just in case it takes longer.

Yes, T-2 is pretty easy -- it's just UA, CO, and AS in that terminal. 30 minutes on a bad day for security. Note that if you're checking luggage, the checkin area is pretty cramped and the line is slow. And you have to allow time taking the bus back from the rental car facility.

Over an hour in T-4 is unusual, but I've been caught in that (and missed my flight).

Thanks everyone.

Sounds like 2 hours should be more than enough. With nothing to check, even assuming 20-30 minutes to return the car and the rental car shuttle and 45 on the security line that still puts me at the gate before boarding starts.

Being the conservative traveler that I am I'll probably be there earlier than that assuming my meeting ends early enough, but it's nice to know that I probably won't have to wait on a crazy long security line like last time.

I'm a grad student living in Glendale, Az with a girlfriend near SJC who commutes to California twice a month. I usually travel on Southwest flight 570 departing at 5:40p. My last class lets out at 4:10p and according to Google the drive is 35-50 minutes. I always park off airport...and have always made my flight. If renting car, do note that the PHX car rental facility is quite hard to find.