PHL and IAD will have similar weather in July--afternoon thunderstorms. I don't think one would be worse than the other. As for ATC/congestion delays, PHL is really bad in the summer. The runway situation is quite limited.

I am also going to make one more push for the Amtrak/US connection via PHL. As Bluehen1 notes, navigating immigration at IAD is a bear. If you miss your connection to BDL, the sole re-booking option is 4.5 hours later--and that's the last flight of the day (with possibly no seats left in any case, given how full planes are these days). If you are using Amtrak, you don't run this risk.

Please continue the discussion in the Mid-Atlantic forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

How difficult is the train say, to PHL? Keeping in mind here that I haven't been in Philadelphia since I was 9 and the only train I've ever been on is the MARTA in Atlanta...

The train to philly is fine. Amtrak runs down the CT coast through NY and NJ to 30th St station. You have to change to the regional rail for a 20 minute ride to the airport, which runs twice an hour. If you have alot of luggage you might not like it. If you're packing light, it will be fine. The R1 train makes a stop at every terminal except F (International is A, the first stop). There is an escalator/elevator from each train platform to the enclosed walkway between the terminal and baggage claim.

If you can find your way through an airport, you can certainly find your way through 30th St. Station in Philly. You get off Amtrak there, walk to the SEPTA train area about 50 yards away, buy a ticket at the window, find your platform, and wait for the train to PHL. The ride is 20 minutes. It really couldn't be simpler. If you have a ton of bags, it'll be a bit of a drag, but with just a suitcase and a carry-on, it is no worse than walking through the airport.

I'm resurrecting a very old thread (ca. 2008), but didn't want to start a new one. So to everyone reading this thread, probably not worth replying to any posts before mine

I need to fly ORD-LGA for a wedding and best I can do for the timing and price is to fly US through PHL. The complication is that the best timing options there and back have 50 min connections between F and one of the mainline US terminals.

I know it's possible, but any experience with the shuttle service? How crowded is it these days? The connections will be Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, so I'm hoping volume will be relatively light.

And, of course, the weather needs to hold up.

I think the PHL shuttle service is going to be the least of your problems. Loads will be pretty light on the weekend, yes. But you are flying in/out of two of the most delay-prone airports around, LGA and PHL. I would absolutely not assume that a 50-minute connection is a good idea, particularly if you are flying in for an imortant event that has a fixed schedule.

Where in NY are you going? What about flying to EWR, or taking the train from PHL to your destination?

I agree with this advice - especially if you will be flying during a time which has less than perfect weather. Every time there is a storm PHL gets 10x worse than usual and US can't seem to figure out what is going on.

Train to NYC is very easy if you can go ORD -> EWR. There also should be flights from ORD to JFK that would not require a connection.

I'm thinking train from PHL to NYC might not be the most direct option you can take since you would have to take the airport line to 30th street station, THEN get on the train (travel time approx. 2 1/2 hours and it can be longer if the timing is not right - those trains can leave 1x every hour if you hit the wrong time of day). Train from EWR is approx. 35 minutes and that is a great suggestion.

Thanks for the advice. I have a 24 hr hold on the ticket now, so I can certainly find other options to/from EWR and JFK.