Los Angeles via Heathrow or Atlanta?

Has anyone flown to L.A via Heathrow and if so, would you advise this over Delta via Atlanta? I really like the look of travelling Virgin Atlantic but am put off by Heathrow and having to clear immigration in America....is this really a big deal?

Also,for anyone who has flown Delta via Atlanta - how was that?How are the planes...in-flight entertainment etc?? Thanks.

Have gone through Heathrow with American and Atlanta with Delta but there's no contest. Flying from Dublin wins everytime!! Clearing immigration here is a huge positive and Atlanta is designed for connecting flights so it's much more pleasant. Also after 10 hours in the air I like to have a leg stretch and a bite of non airline food.

I would never choose to connect through Heathrow. Haven't done so in 6 years, and will even pay extra to avoid it.

In flight entertainment on Delta varies, some planes have seat back screens, some don't. Check the aircraft type that's being used on your dates.

I have connected through Heathrow several times and to be honest it is not that bad. If you fly with BA, you will definitely have seat back tvs and food the whole way to LAX.

Atlanta is pretty easy to connect (easier than Heathrow) and this route is good if you want to break it up into two medium length flights rather than a short and a really long flight (11 hours Heathrow to LAX). Delta is hit and miss with seat back tvs and for the leg between Atlanta and LAX you will have to pay to watch it (and the food)

Yes it is great to clear immigration at Dublin (if you fly with Delta) but you can easily queue there as long as you would in LAX so you don't really save a huge amount of time. You still have to clear customs at Atlanta which also takes time and you would need to leave 2.5-3 hours connection time to be sure.

Virgin don't use the main (horrible!) International Terminal at LAX .. rather they use a separate terminal along with Air NZ and a few others .. Immigration here may be a bit better... Personal experience with BA at US Immigration at the main International Terminal at LAX has varied from 30 minutes to 30 seconds! - Totally depends on where you're sitting on the plane and what aircraft have just arrived before yours ... but on average I'd say LAX isn't too bad for immigration queues - certainly better than JFK or Newark in my experience.

Agree with the comments about Atlanta being easier to connect at though .. and there's certainly something to be said about using the same airline all the way (more assistance in case of disruption etc.)