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What is wrong with PHL airport?

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bgaviator

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Posts
353
I work for a US Airways Express carrier as a dispatcher, and I am curious to know why PHL can't handle any kind of anything without going on some lengthy flow control program that ends up delaying and cancelling our flights all of the time? The weather wasn't bad at all there today, yet they went on a lengthy program and we ended up once again screwing pax. ORD and ATL seem to be able to handle much worse weather, yet PHL can't handle a 10 knot wind, or a celing below 2,000 ft? Curious mind wants to know, thanks.
 
Too many soft pretzels, cheese steaks and roast beef sandwiches.
(I miss my home town!)

Maybe it has to do with the volume of traffic and not enough runways?
 
yeah, looking at the airport diagram, it really doesn't seem set up for the most efficient operations. Kind of strange US Airways would elect to have such a big presence there. Seems like nothing can get done.
 
Mama's in Bala Cynwyd, Pats, Genos, Jims, Tony Lukes, feel free to add your favorite.
Years ago I have memories of being in PHL approach control.
Controllers were nearly all drinking coffee, smoking ciggies and carving stuff into the wood shelf that was at the base of the radar screens.
Besides the addition of the short jet runway, there really hasn't been much changed in PHL in years. It is landlocked. Only solutions are patience and avoidance.
 
bgaviator said:
Kind of strange US Airways would elect to have such a big presence there.
Click to expand...

...while leaving PIT to wither. The explanation I heard (unconfirmed) when I worked for one of their wholly-owned carriers was that they prefer PHL because it has some ridiculously high O&D pax numbers. But IDK for sure.
 
When PHL goes to IFR ops they essentially have only one runway to land on a west operation. On an east operation they can use two runways on occasion utilizing converging ILSs.

When turboprops were abundant in PHL they would accomodate an ILS to 26. Runway 26 doesnt have CAT D approach mins. So with all the CRJS it makes it much worse than before.

The wrench in the spokes is NY Center!
 
I know the Dash's can get a runway 35 exemption when there are flow programs in effect, when its VFR...but sometimes they don't give them. Plus the ILS 17 is rarely used so that runway is useless unless it's VFR.
 
It's not Philly per se, it's New York Center.

"Hello, this is New York Center. We regret to inform that SWAP is in effect today."

SWAP = Severe Weather Avoidance Plan

Weather can be perfect in PHL. But if there are thunderstorms to the west, and you're in an aircraft trying to go west, then may God have mercy on your soul.
 
Sounds like you guys have it all figured out. O&D traffic, runway config, NY Center, sandwiches, SWAP, that's PHL. Too bad, because PIT was the best for eats by far.
 
SWAP = Severe Weather Avoidance Procedures....not Plans
 
It's more like a sucky avoidance plan.

It's the worse when they have to land east.

But when it's VFR, and they can land west, it's pretty smooth, better than a few years ago.

If you think PHL is bad, keep an eye on the EWR flow times.
 
There is a tower controller who is incompetent AND has an extremely sarcastic tone to his voice while attempting to "control" slow moving taxiing aircraft. He has lost track of us when we were the only one he was "controlling", even though he had given us the clearance moments earlier. This wasn't the only time I had this professional controlling me. Everytime I land on 9R and get the old "hold short of 9L and stay with me" I then spend way to long holding short when there were numerous safe opportunities to cross. I have asked what the problem is and am told that "I have to coordinate with the tower controller for that runway". I'm just glad that fuel is cheap and passengers and crew have no connections to make. Why can't they switch aircraft to the 9L controller at that point so we can talk live to the person who is really clearing us to cross an active and we can hear that controller giving other clearances for 9L?
 
When I was at Air Wisconsin we had a PHL ATC supervisor come in and talk to us about the operations there. He said PHL that due to the misfortune of being sandwiched between NYC and Washington, all departures out of PHL were at the back of the pack for NY center. DC and NYC aircraft were almost always given priority. Basically, as he put put it, more runaways would not do a thing for departure delays, but would help with arrival issues.

Also Airways picked PHL over PIT not for operational reasons but as alluded to earlier, the O&D traffic out of PHL. We were always told that PHL was the most profitable hub for Airways.
 
NEDude said:
When I was at Air Wisconsin we had a PHL ATC supervisor come in and talk to us about the operations there. He said PHL that due to the misfortune of being sandwiched between NYC and Washington, all departures out of PHL were at the back of the pack for NY center. DC and NYC aircraft were almost always given priority. Basically, as he put put it, more runaways would not do a thing for departure delays, but would help with arrival issues.

Also Airways picked PHL over PIT not for operational reasons but as alluded to earlier, the O&D traffic out of PHL. We were always told that PHL was the most profitable hub for Airways.
Click to expand...

That and the fact that the powers that be in PIT decided to jack up all the fees. Probably why that place is a ghost town.
 
PIT per-passenger fees are very high & have been for years. One reason is to pay down all the debt from the new 1992 terminal, a legacy of usair's dubious late 80's strategy to make the city the cornerstone of its route-structure. Another reason is the drastic reduction in flights when usair shut down the hub; fewer passengers to pay the bills.

As has already been posted here; putting the hub in PHL was a no-brainer financially for the airline. For passengers who have to connect (or try to connect) in PHL instead of PIT, it's a headache.
 
Correcting said:
It's not Philly per se, it's New York Center.

"Hello, this is New York Center. We regret to inform that SWAP is in effect today."

SWAP = Severe Weather Avoidance Plan

Weather can be perfect in PHL. But if there are thunderstorms to the west, and you're in an aircraft trying to go west, then may God have mercy on your soul.
Click to expand...



Not exactly what I wanted to read as a sit here in PHL on the morning of our overnight , thunderstorms overhead and a 2 PM report time later his afternoon. Destination, you ask ? LAS...:(


Gonna make for a long afternoon.


PHXFLYR:cool:
 

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