Don't even get me started on Philadelphia right now. I am sitting here wasting my day waiting for someone to call me to deliver my lost luggage.

I am going to post a trip report while I wait. Just to blow off some steam.

We had many delays yesterday at that airport and they really try your patience.

Nancy: What did you say to them to get them to do this for free? I was thinking of doing the same thing.

This post is rather old, but I will post to see if anyone had some advice for me. I have a 5 hour layover coming from Amsterdam to Philly during mid-day Saturday. I have a friend that's from Philly that I would love to grab a quick bite in the airport or Marriot. How much time would I have to enjoy lunch/dinner when taking in consideration of getting off the plane, clearing, and PHL's notorious connecting stories. Thanks!~

The post is old but the situation doesn't appear to have changed much. I connect through PHL frequently. The problems range from no gate available (you learn this shortly after the good news that the plane is arriving twenty minutes early), no gas in the plane (this on my last trip through, the plane had been sitting at the gate for over three hours and after we all boarded they started fueling it made us late leaving the gate and hence delayed the flight almost an hour), gate agents who either can't or won't tell the passengers essential information (such as the flight has been cancelled).

Thanks for the heads up. All my flights to Europe have been (except this past December)direct flights from Chicago with connecting flights in Europe. But I have noticed that more online bookings have connecting flights on the eastcoast.

I must agree with the above. I fly in and out of Atlanta because I live about 90 miles from the airport. At other times, because US Airways had a good price, I tried Philadelphia for my flights to Europe.

Both airports are terrible. In Atlanta, and probably in others, I was totally surprised last year to find that to re-enter the US I had to go through another security check like I was getting on an airplane rather than getting off.

I never have figured out why that procedure was necessary. If a terrorist was out for mischief, would he have not done so during the 8 hours he was sitting on the plane rather than 40 minutes after he got off of it?

In Philadelphia, the whole situation is near bedlam. I wonder at times if the whole airline industry because of TSA has not gone stark raving mad.

Some of my stories involving my arificial hip are either funny or disgusting depending on the point of view.

Compare London with Atlanta. When I went through security in Atlanta, the buzzer went off as it always does when I came through. Some semi literate yells out in parade ground voice "Male assist."

Finally some guy who looks like he does not know a femur from a cranium comes over to check me out. He takes his wand and all the other equipment deemed necessary and asks "What's the problem?"
I reply, "I have a metal hip." His response, "Yeah? Wherebouts?"

Then we go through this protracted game of wanding me and having me turn around and around with arms out stretched.

At Gatwick, the procedure was the opposite in clumsiness. As I approached the security checkpoint, I said to the officer, "I have a metal hip." His response, with no fancy equipment, was "Sir, may I feel of your hip?" I said, "Sure." He delicately felt of the joint in the same place my orthopedic surgeon does, and said "Thank you, sir. Have a good flight home."

No screaming. No spread eagle stances. Just a very competent British security officer calmly, and effectively doing his job with a minimimum of delay and commotion.

In contrast, the TSA folks over here seemed duty bound to make as big a fuss over it as possible.

In Munich two years ago I went through a very thorough, and very serene check.
I told the security officer (in German) that I had an artificial hip. He looked at the x-ray, smiled, said, "That's obvious." And waved me through to be pat searched. (Everybody got that procedure. It was done quietly, quickly, thoroughly, and smoothly.)

I have seen x-rays of my hip and I know that big shiny piece of plastic, titanium and steel is most obvious. It stands out like a beacon.

bob_brown - You <b>always</b> have to reclear security after getting into the US. The reason is that every traveler has to claim luggage to go through customs. One therefore now has access to stuff in the checked luggage, which didn't go through security in the initial departure airport.

For example, one is allowed put knives in their checked luggage. After they claim luggage, they can then switch that into their carry-on.

And don't complain. In many airports of the world, even if you DON'T claim luggage, and DON'T enter the country, you still need to reclear security for tranfers. Other airports have security at every gate, so regardless how you get there, you still need to reclear security before getting to the plane door.

so inconclusion, I should just skip meeting my friend for lunch/dinner during my 5 hour layover in PHL?

unemployed - You should have about 3 hours if the plane arrives in time. Getting you luggage and through INS/customs should take no more than 45 minutes if you're a US citizen, more if not.

Then, prepare to get back through security about an hour before flight, less if you're USAir or *Alliance elites.

So, tell your friend to come to the airport. He/she understand if you get delayed a bit.