I'm going to a wedding in the PA country side in April. The venue and hotel is equidistant to both PHL and EWR. We will fly in, rent a car at the airport and drive to the venue Fri afternoon then return for our flight home to Dallas on Sunday. There will be little to no time to spend in the respective cities.

Considering my plans, is one of these airports substantially easier/more reliable than the other? I would guess EWR but I don't have much experience with either airport. The price of flights isn't that different.

TIA

EWR has had cuts to flights in the past year due to staffing shortages and runway construction.

EWR sucks. Constant flight delays and always feels like they are understaffed at the TSA points.

Philly airport is old but I've not had loads of problems in and out of it.

If you're flying to and from Dallas there should be many more flights to PHL since they're both AA hubs. Philly is fine though.

Have you considered JFK or LGA on AA instead of Newark?

Why would you fly in to JFK or LGA for a quick weekend in the PA countryside? That makes zero sense.

Go with whatever airport gets you the cheapest rental car. We fly in/out of EWR a lot and sometimes it's hard/expensive to get a good rental.

I dislike both airports, but PHL is worse IMO. The terminals I've been in badly need renovation, and it had the most disgusting bathrooms I've ever seen.

I can't speak to PHL as I haven't ever flown into it, but from a travel agent perspective, I see far more issues with Newark in delays/cancellations (including my own!). I would do PHL. I would think rental car would be cheaper from there as well.

PHL is fine.
Most every airport terminal is a dump.... you arnt there for the terminal you are there for a flight.

Flying from Dallas, fly american direct the PHL.

Ive flown to PHL a lot the last 2 years.
While it's not great, I still prefer it to CLT.

If you're flying to/from DFW, your only real choice is American Airlines to PHL.

If you were flying to/from Houston, your best choice would be United to EWR.

These days, I try to make as few connections as possible. Having said that - don't let American try to route you through CLT.

Because he's flying from Dallas so I assumed he'd have a connection to get to Newark which I would avoid. Any time made up with being closer to PA would be lost by the connection.

AA has direct flight to PHL and EWR, but about twice as many to PHL since it's a hub.

The rental car comment needs to be repeated....Newark rentals SUCK. Go to filly from dallas if possible.

Done! Booked my tickets to PHL. Thanks everyone

I avoid Newark. In and out of Philly about 8 times a year. Pretty easy to get around. Rent cars are easy
To get to as well. When you return, if you are pre tsa, check in at terminal c. Much easier and quicker.