< Typing from a hotel in SJ after having transferred through LAX this morning.> LAX isn't so bad as a transfer spot. I fly RDU-->SJC pretty regularly using th

< Typing from a hotel in SJ after having transferred through LAX this morning.> LAX isn't so bad as a transfer spot. I fly RDU-->SJC pretty regularly using the [pretty new] RDU<-->LAX direct with a commuter leg between LA & SJ. My other alternative is SJC<-->ATL with the commuter leg between RDU<-->ATL. If I'm going to fly a redeye I prefer to land at home rather than some midway point.... LAX is far better than JFK, not to mention O'Hare. Having to leave security at JFK in order to do a terminal transfer via the sky train is one of the most frustrating things in flying. So is having to return your rental car seemingly ten miles and a half dozen sky train stops from a terminal like at SFO. In the US, I've really been quite impressed by the new Delta terminal in Detroit. There are quite a few shitty, big international airports outside the US, too. Imho, Guarulhos in São Paulo is the worst. Barely air-conditioned, awful security experience for non-Brazilians, and zero real food after security. I've never had Delhi or Mumbai as an endpoint, but flying through them and having to transfer from an international to a domestic flight, or vice versa, is irritating, too. Lots of time spent looking for unmarked transfer bus stops, and more lack of aircon. Also, what's with the Indian practice of forcing a pre-check-in x-ray of both checked bags & carry-ons, but then arbitrarily x-ray or hand-search after check-in? And, of course these x-ray stations have no signage and no indication of the fact that they're required. As maddening travel experiences go, this is right up there with visiting a country (like Chile) where they don't really go out of their way to tell you a visa is required, and then pop a $130 charge on you upon arrival (this was instituted, like the Brazilian visa requirement for US citizens) as reciprocity for Bush's US visa requirement for citizens of those countries. Writing this I realize I come across as particularly more bitchy than normal, and that isn't really intentional. International air travel, though, is -- imho -- broken and the experience frequent travelers have forced upon them is really quite awful. And I'm complaining as someone who has platinum status, lounge access, and a handful of systemwide upgrades. My $.02: when you get to whatever the top statuses are for any given airline, the "perks" they provide result in you actually having an experience that should be the status quo: free checked bags, economy "comfort" or "plus" seating, free onboard wifi and personal entertainment, snacks you don't have to pay for, and not having to put up with carrier's ridiculously inefficient boarding algorithms.