Hey guys first post here, decided to post here since this is more of a domestic issue than international,

I am going to Nürtingen for 3 weeks May 29 - June 19 for studies. I would prefer to leave SNA as its 15 minutes away, and know the airport like the back of my hand. LAX is fine, but only if I don't pass customs there; although LAX would probably be a direct from LHR. Delta does SNA-ATL-STR, but I have heard customs at ATL is horrid as well. This is at least 3 hrs. quicker than most other total travel times I have seen though. Also, just thought about LAX - FRA and taking a train into Nürtingen, but customs in LAX

I get AA Lifetime Gold and Delta Silver through my dad if that has any merit. Maybe I can use some upgrades he has to hope for a bump up

Just wondering what some of you more seasoned travelers would do, and to give advice to a handful of others travelling at the same time.

-Will

Welcome to FT!

You don't go through customs outbound.

I have gone through customs at LAX numerous times and not found it to be that much of a hassle. Delays in ATL due to weather can be a big problem. Unless there are other factors, I would take the LAX-FRA nonstop.

Clearing immigration and customs is, of course, a necessary "evil" - even the most efficient U.S. re-entry point can become nightmarish if your fully-loaded widebody arrives simultaneously with four or five other similarly-full wideboddies

To me, the trick is to not schedule your ongoing domestic flight too close to your international arrival. If you clear immigration and customs faster than you expected, it gives you a chance to relax and unwind a bit before continuing your journey. In my experience, too many people schedule their ongoing flights far too closely to the minimum connecting time.

your dad's status won't help you unless he is on the flights....good luck.....

My experiences with customs at LAX have been great. Breezed through every time. Don't worry about it. And just to reiterate a couple things already mentioned in this thread: you wont go through customs on the way out of LAX, just coming back in. Plus it's not like going through ATL will somehow spare you from going through customs. That could even be a worse idea because if customs are really slow at ATL, you could miss your connection back to SNA. Secondly, your dad's status isn't going to help you one bit unless he is flying with you.

My personal suggestion is to just do the LAX-FRA and take the train. A lot less potential for missed connections and other headaches. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my perception was that you don't travel a *ton*, so connecting from a domestic flight to an international flight in an airport you aren't familiar with could be intimidating.