USAirways to/from Philadelphia

Does anyone have first hand experience of flying with USAirways Dublin-Philadelphia-Dublin? It's the cheapest option for my travel plans. I dont know anyone who has flown the route with USAirways but I've read some passenger comments online, most of which were more negative than positive.

I'd like to know if the saving I make on the tickets - the international flights and an outward and inward domestic flight also with USAirways; total travel time c. 13 hours each way - might be worn away by a bad travelling experience.

Any help is always appreciated.

I've never had problems with US Airways, always found them profesional and on time which I think is most important.

Thanks for that, Unreg.

I've been taking another look and to my horror, having checked prices on 30th and 31st March, I find today April 2nd, USAirways isn't available at a reasonable price any more and all other fares have risen too! An expensive lesson for me, it would seem.

Now the best priced flight is with CONTINENTAL via NEWARK.
Has anyone taken this trip?
Thanks again.

I've flown plenty of times with Continental to Newark and have never had any problems with them. Are you connecting onwards? Listen out at the end for when they ask passengers to "deplane"!!!! Lol!

, mind that any internal connections you book originate and return to EWR. Many reservations systems lump EWR, LGA, and JFK into the collective airport code of NYC (as LON covers LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, and LCY). You would not want to make the trek from EWR to LGA at rush-hour (which it will be weekdays upon your arrival).

Before prices shot up any further, I booked a flight with AMERICAN through CHICAGO. I've heard Chicago can be a bit of a nightmare at times. Can anyone confirm this? Now I have somehing else to fret about as, travelling alone, the transfer time between international flight and domestic connection seem perilously short.

Any advice at all would help and be gratefully received.
Where's EvilDoctor when we need him!

Hi Ash, are you saving much money between AA and Aer Lingus, Last time i went to Boston, by AA, got delayed and was travelling for hours and hours, I thought that for the hassle and inconvenience for the sake of around 100 euro I regretted just not paying the extra money and using the direct flights with Aer Lingus.

Hi Ash,
Chicago can be bad enough from time to time as it is a very busy airport - but IMHO it is still bettter than Heathrow. There was a lot of problems with delayed flights before, but I think that has now improved after the number of flights were cut by the US Aviation Authorities.
There is a train that runs between the terminals but I guess the biggest hassle is having to clear security again when you get to the domestic terminal. A lot will depend on how busy the airport is at the time your flight is at. It will probably take about an hour to make the connection. I would be surprised if American have allowed less than an hour for the transfer.
In any evernt there is no point worrying - American will have several flights to PHL so worst case you will be delayed a couple of hours while they arrange a different flight.

To Gentle and Soy, I bought the flight on the americanairlines.co.uk site. It cost the equivalent of €650 to Chicago plus the domestic flight return. This was about as cheap as I've seen it since all the fares seemed to rocket after April 1st and was €135 cheaper than the fare quoted by local travel agent.
However, a couple of things have cropped up. I've yet to be issued with my eticket email. Also, having looked closely at the itinerary, American have allowed 90 minutes for the transfer at Chicago on the outward trip and, more worryingly, less than an hour for the connection on the inbound leg of the journey. This surely is not enough, even at the quietest time in Chicago? I dont know who to contact about this, what can be done about it or whether there will be a penalty for changing flights. Is there an AmericanAirlines office in Dublin? In the recess of my mind I vaguely remember someone once saying that the airline is responsible for ensuring enough transfer time to make connections? Is this true? Above all, while I detest waiting at airports, the thought of missing my flight back to Dublin and having to await the next available flight, probably next day, is much worse.
As I understand it, American Airlines are codeshare partners with Aer Lingus on the Dublin-Chicago-Dublin route. There's a chance Aer lingus will operate the flight. I've never travelled with American before but I hope they at least will maintain Aer Lingus standards. Natural pessimist that I am, I just hope the trip goes reasonably smoothly.

again - there is no point worrying about it. If AA took the booking then they are responsible for you (provided you get to the initial check-in on time). If worst comes to worst they will make every effort to get you on a different airline to avoid having to put you up in a hotel for the night. That all said I once made the transfer (from gate to gate) in Chicago in 25mins so it is possible.
I think AA start their Dublin - Chicago service in May so unless you fly before then, you are most likely flying with AA. They have an office on mount street in Dublin so you could always ring there and express your concern about the short connection time. Actually I think that AA use the same terminal for domestic arrivals and international departures so you will not need much transfer time after all.

Soy, thanks for that post. That has eased my fears a little, especially if American use the same terminal for domestic and international flights. I am flying at the end of May. I haven't had the opportunity to phone American's office in Dublin yet. I'm waiting for the eticket/email to arrive. Maybe someone in AA's office will spot the short time alloted for transfer and move to rectify the situation. We'll see how it goes.
Thanks again Soy. I appreciate you sharing your experience.

Ash said:

Soy, thanks for that post. That has eased my fears a little, especially if American use the same terminal for domestic and international flights. I am flying at the end of May. I haven't had the opportunity to phone American's office in Dublin yet. I'm waiting for the eticket/email to arrive. Maybe someone in AA's office will spot the short time alloted for transfer and move to rectify the situation. We'll see how it goes.
Thanks again Soy. I appreciate you sharing your experience.

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Hi Ash... If AA sold you it all together as 1 ticket nothing to worry about ... if they screw up your connection they will have to look after you. If you are making the connection yourself by buying two separate tickets then maybe it would be better to allow more time.

Connecting at US airport is normally painless enough apart from on inbound international flights since you have to clear immigration/customers.. However given you will be flying from Dublin I guess your flight will be pre-cleared so you should have plenty time.

Thanks EvilDoctorK!
I spoke with a very nice person at AmAir in Dublin today and was assured my booking was in the system; that an eticket would be issued nearer depature date; that the transfer time in Chicago was adequate but that in the event of missing a connection, AmAir are responsible for making alternative arrangements. I feel better knowing these things.
Thanks to everyone kind enough to offer their advice and experiences.