Informational Guide to Phoenix International Airport (PHX) - NON OFFICIAL

Our Review of Phoenix Airport

Our Review of Phoenix Airport

At Plan Your Trips, we have analyzed hundreds of airports around the world, gaining a clear understanding of what users expect when visiting an airport. With this know-how, we have created this guide, placing passengers at the forefront of everything, aiming to simplify and enhance the airport experience.

In this guide, our goal is to present information in a manner that is both quick and reliable. Recognizing that passengers often have limited time and may be in a hurry, we strive to ensure that they do not waste time unnecessarily.

Another key focus of our guide is to highlight the strengths of the airport and also the weaknesses, and in some cases, offer recommendations to travelers. In alignment with this approach, we provide users with aggregated information on delays and on-time performance, analyzing both airlines and individual flights.

Pros and Cons of Phoenix Airport

PROS

Location: Phoenix Airport is located 3 miles (5 km) east of downtown Phoenix, making it easily accessible from the city center and surrounding areas.

Hub: PHX Airport is a hub for American Airlines. It also operates as a focus city for Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

Modern Facilities: In terms of infrastructure and services, the airport has rather sophisticated offering such as shops, cafes and restaurants, business and first class lounges for the passengers.

Connectivity: Phoenix Airport provides considerable access to domestic flights, with flights to many destinations.

Efficiency: This airport has a good reputation for an effective supply chain that ranges from internal security to baggage.

Accessibility: The airport is situated conveniently in the central region of the city and is connected from several parts through different means of transport such as public transport, conventional taxis and online booking of cars.

 

CONS

Congestion: PHX can get rather overcrowded during peak travel times meaning longer wait times at security check points and passengers getting caught up in large crowds in terminal areas.

Limited Dining Options:  PHX dining options are not very diverse and not very good especially in some zones of the terminal. It could reduce the pleasantness of travelers to a certain extent thereby making their dining experience unappealing. 

Parking Challenges: It should be noted that parking is provided at PHX for all cars, although it may be slightly difficult at times especially during busy trafficked hours to locate vacant spaces for easy parking.

Mini-Guide of the Airport (2' Guide)

There are 2 Terminals: Terminal 3 and Terminal 4 are the two passenger terminals, and sometimes the connection between them is not optimum. Be aware of which terminal your flight departs from.

Transportation To and From Phoenix: Transportation to and from the airport varies and includes private transportation transport service, taxi, car rental, transportation through a ride hailing service and it also provides transportation through public transit.

Check-in Areas:  Check-in area is located in level 1 of Terminal 3, and level 2 of Terminal 4.

Shopping & Entertainment: Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport boasts of displaying various products which include, clothing and accessories, gifts, electronics, toys, books and entertainment products for people to purchase when they are at the airport.

Lounges and Amenities: The two terminals in PHX provide many lounges where passengers can have time to take a rest and relax before flying. Also, there are facilities and services for workout and spas for those passengers who prefer to take time off and relax during their layovers.


How we calculate On Time Performance

On various pages of our website, you will encounter a metric widely utilized in aviation and other forms of transportation known as OTP (On Time Performance). We believe that providing this metric assists passengers in planning their trips and exploring alternatives before purchasing their flight tickets.

We calculate the On Time Performance for all flights and airlines, when we have enough data to do so. In certain instances, it may not be feasible to accurately compute the On-Time Performance for a specific flight or airline due to inadequate or non-representative data, which could result in misleading conclusions.

Our calculation of On Time Performance and delay information solely relies on arrival times. This approach is chosen over calculating departure delays, as we consider arrival punctuality to be of primary concern to passengers.

The On Time Performance displayed on our website is calculated as follows:

  • On Time: Flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time, or earlier. In the absence of data for a specific flight, we assume the flight arrives on time, to avoid penalizing airlines for data unavailability.
  • Moderate Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 15 to 30 minutes.
  • Significant Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 30 to 60 minutes.
  • Major Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay exceeding 60 minutes.
  • Average Delay: The average delay is calculated by considering flights that arrive early as having a delay of 0 minutes. Early arrivals do not contribute to reducing the average delay calculation

Some Stats

Annual Passengers Evolution

Airlines with more flight operations (last 3 months)

American Airlines

40% (Total flights analyzed: 23542)

Southwest Airlines

30% (Total flights analyzed: 17404)

Delta Air Lines

5% (Total flights analyzed: 3072)

United Airlines

5% (Total flights analyzed: 3043)

Frontier Airlines

4% (Total flights analyzed: 2385)

Airlines with best on-time performance at Phoenix Airport (last 3 months)

Considering all airlines:

Volaris

95% (Total flights analyzed: 131)

Denver Air Connection

94% (Total flights analyzed: 179)

Contour Airlines

89% (Total flights analyzed: 684)

United Airlines

88% (Total flights analyzed: 3043)

American Airlines

86% (Total flights analyzed: 23542)

Delta Air Lines

85% (Total flights analyzed: 3072)

Considering only airlines with more than 10 flights/week:

Volaris

95% (Total flights analyzed: 131)

Denver Air Connection

94% (Total flights analyzed: 179)

Contour Airlines

89% (Total flights analyzed: 684)

United Airlines

88% (Total flights analyzed: 3043)

American Airlines

86% (Total flights analyzed: 23542)

Delta Air Lines

85% (Total flights analyzed: 3072)

Southwest Airlines

85% (Total flights analyzed: 17404)

JetBlue

84% (Total flights analyzed: 310)

Alaska Airlines

83% (Total flights analyzed: 1478)

Routes with more flights from Phoenix Airport (last month)

Denver - DEN (United States of America): 815
Los Angeles - LAX (United States of America): 706
Las Vegas - LAS (United States of America): 615
Seattle - SEA (United States of America): 600
Salt Lake City - SLC (United States of America): 526
San Diego - SAN (United States of America): 513
Dallas - DFW (United States of America): 445
Chicago - ORD (United States of America): 437
San Francisco - SFO (United States of America): 430
Santa Ana - SNA (United States of America): 377