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Almost Worth Knowing: Philadelphia Airport in All Its Glory

Well, I'm on my way to Orlando. That's right, it's that time of year again.... Nationals.

I don't have time to say much, because we're boarding soon. However, I would like to say that this is the fastest check-in that I've had so far, and it made my airport experience thoroughly more enjoyable. Nonetheless, I would still warn anyone flying Philly (out of Philadelphia International Airport) to beware of the normally slow check-in times, mostly due to a poor security check system. I always get to Philly 2 hours early, and expect to wait in the security check line for at least an hour. Oftentimes, as my flight time becomes dangerously close, I am pulled from line to be checked more rapidly.

Once, I saw Ron Jeremy while waiting to fly to California.

According to Wikipedia: "As of 2008 [PHL] is the 10th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft activity. The airport is the primary international hub of US Airways and has service to destinations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, and Mexico, and in the future to China, as US Airways is expected to begin service to Beijing on Spring 2010."

This information actually surprises me, since I think of PHL as the run-down, cheaper alternative to flying Newark Airport. Then again, its unfair to compare PHL with Newark, which services the New York area. New York airports, including Newark, JFK, and La Guardia, comprise the largest airport system in the world, other than London.

So, what does this all mean? Well, I think flying PHL comes down to whether or not you want to deal with going the distance to Philly and putting up with slower check-in times. Newark has better aesthetic design and is faster, but Philly is advertising free Wi-Fi for college students every day, or for everybody on weekends. Both places have similar food options, which is important for me in rating airport quality. In the end, however, I still tend to fly Philly because it is cheaper.

Final Note: Why is airport food so expensive? I bought an 8" turkey sub for 8 bucks. That's entirely outrageous. Also, there's this girl sitting across from me in the terminal, taking MySpace style pictures of herself.