EXTENSIVE VECTORING DUE TO WX AND EMER HANDLING OF ANOTHER ACFT RESULTS IN E170 DECLARING MIN FUEL.

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THIS RPT IS FOR THE DECLARATION OF MINIMUM FUEL ON APCH IN PHL. FLT RELEASE HAS ZERO HOLDING FUEL 1273 TNKR AND NO ALTERNATE. AN ALTERNATE WAS NOT NEEDED PER THE WX RPTS/FORECASTS. THE FLT WAS NORMAL THROUGH ALL PHASES UNTIL ON APCH. SINCE PHL HAD A LOW CLOUD LAYER (NOT FORECAST) THE FINAL APCH VECTORING WAS RATHER LONG (DOUBLE DOWNWIND). WE WERE HANDED OVER TO THE FINAL CTLR AND STARTED TO BE VECTORED FOR APCH. AS WE WERE TO INTERCEPT WE WERE PULLED OFF THE APCH DUE TO A DC10 WITH A NO-GYRO PROB. WE WERE VECTORED AND AGAIN TAKEN OFF THE APCH DUE TO THE SAME ACFT. AT THIS POINT WE KNEW OUR FUEL WAS BECOMING AN ISSUE AND ACARS DISPATCH TO GO TO ABE. NOW WE WERE PUT BACK ON THE APCH AND WE MADE THE MINIMUM FUEL DECLARATION. WE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT WITH APPROX 3300 LBS. I WRITE THIS TO BRING UP THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH WE HAD 1273 LBS TNKR THIS CAN BE USED QUICKLY. IN OUR CASE WE WERE DSNDED AND SLOWED SO OUR FUEL BURN WAS HIGH (4000 LBS/HR); IN ADDITION TO THE LONG VECTORS. I THINK EXTRA FUEL COULD ALWAYS BE USED IN PHL OR AT LEAST AN ALTERNATE; REGARDLESS OF WX; TO PROVIDE AN EXTRA LAYER OF CUSHION AND AVOID A POSSIBLE DIVERSION OR MIN FUEL PROB.