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blackjack68
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Postby blackjack68 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:51 am

PHL has a lot of problems, but I've always found it to be...just so damn ugly. Flying into other airports with beautiful terminals, greenery, cool shops, etc. Then you go into Philly and it's just depression city.

One thing I *DO* like about Philly...the long-term parking. I usually park as close as I can to the terminal itself, and often times I will just walk my luggage to the terminal. The key when you return is to go out the doors by check-in (NOT by baggage claim) so you aren't having to play frogger crossing the exit road, as I made the mistake of doing the first time.
Long term parking is closed currently due to reduced flights/passengers. Garage parking is available at a reduced rate over normal garage rates. $13 per day

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:52 am

Source of the post ust flew out of PHL to TPA and returned from MCO to PHL.
I just read that the economy lot is closed at PHL? Did you park in the upper decks of the garages?

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Postby NTP66 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:52 am

Wow, nice timing. I'll keep an eye on that for our trip in July.

tifosi77
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Postby tifosi77 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:34 pm

Old DEN or new DEN?
Was it refurbished or something? The last time we flew into DEN was probably 2014.
They opened a completely new DEN in the mid 90s, replacing Stapleton International.

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Postby tifosi77 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:36 pm

PHL has a lot of problems, but I've always found it to be...just so damn ugly. Flying into other airports with beautiful terminals, greenery, cool shops, etc. Then you go into Philly and it's just depression city.
It's a poor layout, too. The last time I flew through there, I was on a connection. My arrival gate was like 5 or 6 from the east end, and my connection gate was second-last from the west end.

Uncool, man. Uncool.

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Postby dodint » Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:54 pm

MSP is a weird layout in that the somehow maximized the amount of area you have to cover to get to your gate. It's kind of like it's one long line, but they elevated the train to make it awkward to find and use. So you're on a really long moving floor for a very long time.

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Postby NTP66 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:11 pm

PHL is

Image

RonnieFranchise
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Postby RonnieFranchise » Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:46 pm

MSP is a pretty nice airport but the layout is definitely off. DTW is also really nice, one long line of gates but the tram gets you there in no time. I rarely fly Delta though so I'm not in either location very much.

LAS is odd- most of the gates are pretty easily accessible from the tram, unless you're on Southwest, in which case I hope you brought your sherpa.

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Postby NTP66 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:59 pm

I know people love DFW, but I have always hated connecting through there. Even with ample layovers, we always find ourselves having to run to the next gate because of how long it takes to get from one area to another.

tifosi77
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Postby tifosi77 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:13 pm

For no useful reason, I'm trying to order the top 5 airports I've flown through, in terms of number of flights.

LAX
LAS
SFO
BUR
SEA

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:22 pm

Man, I swear you hated LAX, tif.

Shyster
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Postby Shyster » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:23 pm

Was it refurbished or something? The last time we flew into DEN was probably 2014.

tifosi is referring to the replacement of Denver Stapleton with Denver International, which happened in... eff me I'm old... 1995.

I still think of the current PIT as the "new" airport even though it opened in 1992.

Edit: Which tifosi said and which I would have noticed if I'd advanced a page. :face:
Last edited by Shyster on Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

tifosi77
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Postby tifosi77 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:24 pm

It says here "in terms of the number of flights". I can't really help that my home airport for 21 of the last 23 years is my most-traveled aerodrome. :lol:

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:26 pm

**** me, my bad. I’ve been up since 3am and have apparently forgotten how to **** read.

willeyeam
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Postby willeyeam » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:28 pm

speaking of the new PIT airport, when's the whole renovation supposed to happen?

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Postby Shyster » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:54 pm

I think the construction on the PIT renovations just started. I follow the airport authority on Facebook, and I think I recall a post in the last week or so that they were shutting down some roads and one taxiway in order to start the work.

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Postby willeyeam » Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:05 pm

:thumb:

Orlando Penguin
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Postby Orlando Penguin » Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:31 pm

Philly’s line went quickly as did MCO lines despite having lots of people at MCO.
MCO is the reason why I got TSA Precheck. The fact that it's my home airport made it even more important. Since I began flying again back in July, it really hasn't been all that terrible and there have been times in the morning when I'll be like 'where is everybody?'. Even the baggage claim has become more efficient and I never thought that would be possible.

As for other airports, PHL always reminds me of the bowels of Harrisburg High School when we'd go to the locker room when I'd play a basketball game there -- depressing, decrepit, cement everywhere. DTW is great to get your steps in when you land at A65 and have to connect at A3 (or go to the B gates for the walk through the psychadelic/acid trip tunnel. I've heard so many people complain about ATL but the hundreds of times I've gone through there, I've never had much of an issue. However, the interminable walk/trains to get to the rental car center is a bit much. LAX is very unimpressive for it being a major airport. They're trying to refurbish it a bit and add some more amenities and restaurants but it seems a bit outdated. LAS is a favorite simply because I can pull a few slot machines while I wait, which may not be the smartest thing in the world.

Sometimes more important is the path in which to get a rental car. Those places that have the centers attached to the airport are A+. In the past, I've gone into Memphis and San Antonio and have had to go off campus to get a car. In the past 3-4 years, they've built car centers right next door to the terminal. Places like Vegas, DFW, and Phoenix don't have much of a choice and have to shuttle you to the center and for the most part, they're pretty efficient. Once they get the train finished at Phoenix at the end of this year, it'll be a lot better hopefully.

And then there's JFK and LGA. They can go f themselves. If I have to go to Wrong Island, I'm taking Southwest to Islip.

robbiestoupe
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Postby robbiestoupe » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:01 am

My previous job was at a company that built the trains at airports. Trams, people movers, what have you. So I got to travel to many airports and experience the best and worst of them.

In terms of flying experience, EWR is by far the worst - not even close. Guaranteed there was a delay, cancellation, or some other calamity. If I had to work at EWR, more often than not I'd just drive the 6 hours. Chicago may be second just due to the weather alone. Never fly through Chicago unless it's in the summer. Spring and fall you have the wind, winter is of course right out.

As far as airport layout and terminal hopping, it's a tough one. I mostly had direct flights and was working at the airport, so my experiences were different than most. If there was a layover/transfer, Atlanta was always nice. Having the train below the terminals helped keep the flow of passengers efficient. But man were the corridors ever not shoulder to shoulder?

PHL is of course a dump, no question there. Didn't have much experience flying through

PIT is actually pretty nice. The lack of it being a hub keeps the number of passengers down and keeps the corridors free. The only gripe is the time it takes from parking my car to getting to the gate. And TSA is actually not the bottleneck, it's the walking distance.

CLT really grinds my gears for a similar reason. It seems like you have to walk 5 miles to get from one gate to another. I don't mind walking, but not when I'm trying to catch a flight with a 1 hr layover

DFW it appears has a very inefficient terminal layout. It looks good on paper, but the amount of time it takes to get on the train and make 12 stops before your terminal could be improved.

PHX is probably my favorite as far as aesthetics. I got to work with the train station architects, so I may be biased. The terrazzo in the stations alone cost millions. Really cool layout. The amount of design and effort to make the stations LEED Gold certified was not easy to do, especially with the amount of sun coming in through those big glass windows. Also, building a train guideway that went OVER the airport taxiway was a bold move. It's one thing riding the train over that section of the guideway, it's another walking it. Especially when one does not handle heights very well.

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:05 am

I used to fly through PHX, and agree, that's a nice airport.

Beveridge
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Postby Beveridge » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:09 am

I used to fly through PHX, and agree, that's a nice airport.
Do you go through ATL when you go to Maui? I went through PHX last time to avoid LAX, but also to make the flights shorter. When I went via Atlanta that was too long.

NTP66
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Postby NTP66 » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:10 am

I used to fly through PHX, and agree, that's a nice airport.
Do you go through ATL when you go to Maui? I went through PHX last time to avoid LAX, but also to make the flights shorter. When I went via Atlanta that was too long.
Oh, HELL no. Fly through LAX, every single time. It's exactly halfway between PHL and OGG, and there are a lot more options. I used to fly through PHX, but I don't like the connection times anymore, and they're still flying Boeings (prefer AirBus). I'd consider DFW if only to fly over on a 777, but the flight times still kinda suck. The flights to DFW are all before 7am, and my wife already dislikes 8am flights.

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Postby NTP66 » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:15 am

Ohhh, which reminds me, I'll finally be able to fly on an A321neo this summer. Our flights from PHL to LAX show MCE as actually having extra leg room, so I wonder if AA finally modified their cabins on these routers to include the extra leg room. Previously, you were paying for MCE for the seat location only.

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Postby shafnutz05 » Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:46 am

PHL always reminds me of the bowels of Harrisburg High School when we'd go to the locker room when I'd play a basketball game there -- depressing, decrepit, cement everywhere.
This is a great description.

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Postby shoeshine boy » Wed Apr 07, 2021 3:32 pm



Do you go through ATL when you go to Maui? I went through PHX last time to avoid LAX, but also to make the flights shorter. When I went via Atlanta that was too long.
October of 2019 I took the Delta non-stop ATL>HNL. holy carp that was a long flight! made worse by the fact that Delta screwed us by separating me from my SO even though we had already reserved our seats.

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