connecting flights, baggage

[Guest]

hi there, we leave very soon and are flying from the uk into Philadelphia and then on to MCO orlando, do you guys have any idea as to whether our bags will connect to the ongoing flight in philly or whether we need to collect and recheck?
it is all with the same airline and booked together.
i know we will have to do immigration there, but could do without the hassle of luggage collect and check

thanks

[DOFFSTER]

Hi, You will need to also collect luggage on the outbound journey, but it's just a case of going through Immigration, collect luggage and clear customs and then put your luggage onto the next belt for connections.
You won't need to check-in again as such, hope that makes sense.

COSMIC GIRL gave a really detailed reply on another thread here https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho...post12 651374

[markpwa8]

We are also doing that route in August and I would love to hear how you get on.

How long do you have in Philly?

[marciehatter]

We did this last year - connected to Tampa via Philly - it was all very smooth. Collected suitcases, went through immigration, dropped them off at a big chute (!) and went on to the next terminal. We even had time to have a Philly Cheese Steak

Also, the immigration officers were sooo nice, they gave my son a special sticker and were really friendly. Makes a change from practically everywhere else I've come into the USA!

We've got to go via Miami this year and I'm sure it won't be as easy as Philadelphia

[Guest]

We did it two weeks ago. It was all very easy. We were the only 2 people at immigration and were through in literally 2 minutes! Onto customs who took our form and waved us on towards bag-drop. The whole process took less than 5 minutes. I was well impressed!
They will then wave you through to connections. There is NOTHING landside, no shops, no restaurants, not even a coffee stand, but if you smoke, contrary to popular belief, there IS a smoking area landside. Just tell them you dont want to go through yet and can they direct you outside. The staff are really friendly, one of the nicest airports ive ever been through in fact!... lucky for us coz we ended up stuck there for a looooong time as our next flight was delayed. Eventually checked into ASMo at 1am

[Guest]

many thanks to all for the great responses and information, very helpful as always.
mark we only got 2 hours 30 mins between transfers so gonna be rushed, but hopeful of enough time based on info.
thanks

[darth plagueis]

with all lay over flights in the US from the UK you always take your luggage and re check it in. its really easy and normally on the way to your gate or just after security

on the way back it gets done automatically for you

[Toria_dee]

We just connected through Philadelphia on Tuesday.

We landed 5 mins early - the AA flight was really good. Food was BBQ chicken or cheese pasta served with side salad, bread roll & butter, crackers & cheese and a cherry cake for dessert. They also came round with chocolate ice cream and pretzels. Leg room was good - I'm 5ft 7 and my H is 6ft 4 and we both had plenty of room. Entertainment was OK too - we watched Gifted then they put NBC Universal for American on which showed some highlights and episodes of popular NBC shows. The only issue was after it finished the cabin crew didn't change it and just pressed play so we saw it twice.

Right, now for immigration etc at Philadelphia. We landed and followed the signs to immigration - we were the only flight trying to clear so were processed within 15 mins. We walked through and our bags were going around so grabbed them and joined the queue. This was a mistake. There are 2 lines to go through customs. The left side is for those staying in Philadelphia, the right is for those connecting. Make sure you go to the right hand side. Once we passed through here we turned right and walked along a corridor through glass doors and placed the bags on the belt. There are lots of staff to assist/advise. From there its a case of checking the screens for your departure gate and heading down to security. Security was quite quick. Both H and I had to remove our shoes (I was wearing flip flops, but still had too anyway). Again security was quick and we were on our way.

We walked to our gate and arrived just as they started boarding. They board in groups so we had to wait about 15 mins.

We landed at 13.20 and our next flight was 15:35. It was just the right amount of time. There was 7 of us in total in my party, 3 of which were children and we had enough time to get to where we needed to be and pop into the toilets before boarding.

Hope this helps.

[Guest]

awe thats great guys, so much helpful information.
ill remember to keep us to the right. flight sounds good, long haul in a cramped space is never fun.
appreciated as always