Which is the better flight option?
April 17, 2018 7:33 AM Subscribe
These are both for the return leg of international travel. Flight option A routes from LPA at 6:40am to 10:20am MAD /11:50am MAD to 2:15pm ORD / 5:00pm ORD to 6:30pm MCI. Option B routes frtom LPA at 7:40am to 11:20am MAD / 1:10pm MAD to 3:40pm PHL / 8:25pm PHL to 10:23pm MCI.
Option A costs $150 more than option B for all aspects including post-airport transit, has most comfortable mode of transit available to home, and runs a total of 17 hours 53 minutes. The originating flight also uses ORD as the domestic stop but has no real difference in time/cost. Option A let me pick fewer seats on the plane, so higher risk of middle seats.
Option B costs $150 less than option A for all aspects including transit and starts one hour later which might make for easier to-LPA transit but requires less comfortable transit from MCI to home and runs 20 hours 43 minutes. The originating flight also uses PHL as the domestic stop but has no real difference in time/cost. Option B let me pick more seats, but some were not what I wanted anyway but at least none of the ones I got to pick were middle.
I personally have had a lot of travel through PHL in the past and feel that it is the most delayed airport I've been through; I would be really sad if my final flight delayed me to the point of having to spend the night in Philly. But I've heard ORD Customs is worse than PHL.
What would you do?
Option A costs $150 more than option B for all aspects including post-airport transit, has most comfortable mode of transit available to home, and runs a total of 17 hours 53 minutes. The originating flight also uses ORD as the domestic stop but has no real difference in time/cost. Option A let me pick fewer seats on the plane, so higher risk of middle seats.
Option B costs $150 less than option A for all aspects including transit and starts one hour later which might make for easier to-LPA transit but requires less comfortable transit from MCI to home and runs 20 hours 43 minutes. The originating flight also uses PHL as the domestic stop but has no real difference in time/cost. Option B let me pick more seats, but some were not what I wanted anyway but at least none of the ones I got to pick were middle.
I personally have had a lot of travel through PHL in the past and feel that it is the most delayed airport I've been through; I would be really sad if my final flight delayed me to the point of having to spend the night in Philly. But I've heard ORD Customs is worse than PHL.
What would you do?
I did a similar flight in the fall, from CDG–PHL–BDL (Hartford). My layover in PHL was about 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon. I passed through customs & immigration relatively painlessly (though I'm a white male US citizen, so YMMV). There was a long line that took about a half-hour to get through, but it kept moving steadily, which kept me from stressing out too much. By the time I was done, I still had enough time to have a food-court dinner, walk to my gate at the other end of the airport, and sit around waiting for a half-hour before my final flight departed. (Honestly, the most stressful part of that trip was the security line in CDG, which meant that I arrived at my gate just before it started boarding despite arriving at the airport 2 1/2 hours in advance. But that's not relevant for your travel.)
As far as statistics go, the on-time arrival performance for all airlines in 2017 was about 79% at PHL, while it was about 80.5% at ORD. This is not a difference I would lose much sleep about; going through customs will be the bigger issue for you. (If you want to look at more specific statistics, for the specific carriers you're considering or for the month you're considering flying, you can look them up at this lovely page from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.)
One factor to consider: if you miss your final flight from either ORD or PHL to MCI, does that airline have another flight later that day that they could rebook you on? If that's the case for one but not the other, I would be inclined to book the itinerary that doesn't involve the last flight of the day; it makes it much less likely that you'll be stuck in an airport hotel overnight.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
As far as statistics go, the on-time arrival performance for all airlines in 2017 was about 79% at PHL, while it was about 80.5% at ORD. This is not a difference I would lose much sleep about; going through customs will be the bigger issue for you. (If you want to look at more specific statistics, for the specific carriers you're considering or for the month you're considering flying, you can look them up at this lovely page from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.)
One factor to consider: if you miss your final flight from either ORD or PHL to MCI, does that airline have another flight later that day that they could rebook you on? If that's the case for one but not the other, I would be inclined to book the itinerary that doesn't involve the last flight of the day; it makes it much less likely that you'll be stuck in an airport hotel overnight.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:55 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Do the one through O'Hare. The layover is shorter, yes, and O'Hare is a nightmare, yes, but there are lots of flights from Chicago to Kansas City. If you miss the connection there will be another flight they can get you on.
That 5 hour layover in Philly after flying all day from Europe and not getting home until 10:30pm is going to be so, so miserable. I have done it. It sucks.
posted by something something at 8:04 AM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
That 5 hour layover in Philly after flying all day from Europe and not getting home until 10:30pm is going to be so, so miserable. I have done it. It sucks.
posted by something something at 8:04 AM on April 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Seconding ORD. That 2 hr 45 min connection doesn't give you a lot of wiggle room but is still definitely doable, and if you miss it there's plenty of ORD-MCI flights later (I'm assuming you're on AA or United). FYI if you're able to skip the checked bag that will really speed up getting through immigration, may be worth considering.
I do a lot of Europe-USA flights and there's no way I'd take that second option if I could avoid it - with the jetlag, that long layover and late flight will be brutal.
posted by photo guy at 9:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I do a lot of Europe-USA flights and there's no way I'd take that second option if I could avoid it - with the jetlag, that long layover and late flight will be brutal.
posted by photo guy at 9:10 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also worth mentioning that the ORD-MCI leg is way more likely to be delayed than MAD-ORD, so there's a good chance you'll end up with longer than the 2h45m.
posted by something something at 9:22 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by something something at 9:22 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do the first/shorter one. You will be happy to not get home at what will be 4:30am Gran Canarias time. The other one has you getting home at midnightish and is longer to boot.
posted by urbanlenny at 9:23 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by urbanlenny at 9:23 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Landing at 6:30pm is essentially always preferable to landing at 10:30pm, especially if you're coming from overseas. You do not want to be on Las Palmas time while dragging your ass through the airport to get home on "less comfortable transit".
posted by lydhre at 11:40 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by lydhre at 11:40 AM on April 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
ORD and get the Mobile Passport app on your phone to help get through the CBP line faster.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:44 PM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for your input! I was torn which is why I asked, but you all (including favorite votes) seemed mostly on the side of Option A (ORD) so I've heeded your wisdom and purchased that ticket.
posted by vegartanipla at 7:55 PM on April 17, 2018
posted by vegartanipla at 7:55 PM on April 17, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:42 AM on April 17, 2018 [1 favorite]