When it rains......it pours

"The BA rep asked to see proof of my ETA."

Well, that last line shocked me. The delays...not so much....but the BA rep asking for that from a very frequent traveler in the ONeWorld Lounge? Wow.

Hope things get better from here out Frank! Try to exhale when you get there and have fun!

Oh, I forgot to mention. The BA rep asked to see proof of my ETA.

Don't stop there, tell us 'the rest of the story'

I will tell you the rest of the story when--or if--I get to London.

What's really bumming me out is that on my AA flight, I had ordered a special Beef Wellington only available for pre-order. I have no idea what is being served on BA or if anything will be left when they get to me. I'm in the back of Club World.

I should say that AA was very generousl Without asking, for my delay, they sent me a meal voucher worth $12. At JFK, that wll cover a cup of coffee.

It's 4 pm in NY and JFK has just issued ground stops due to thunderstorms in the area.

I wonder if I'll get to London by Thanksgiving.

Frank, this one of those "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" travel experiences. Good luck.

Frank, good luck—I hope you make it this time and have a decent meal. And AA should be ashamed for trying to palm off a cheap meal voucher.

I also hope the thunderstorms hold off. That's definitely adding insult to injury.

I had ordered a special Beef Wellington

If the reviews on flyertalk are accurate, you won’t be missing anything special.

That note about "Beef Wellington" was actually tongue in cheek.

I had it earlier this year and I scracthed my head because it didn't look like any beef wellington I''ve ever had.

I will say my hotel in London is great. I've been messaging them about the changes and they noted when I'm scheduled to arrive. They've also granted me a late checkout at 2 PM and I can extend that until 4. (High status with the chain.)

My plan, as of now, is to check in, grab a quick breakfast--it's free thanks to my status--and then get a few hours sleep.

That's the plan. We'll see what the gods have in store for me.

CarolnowRetired just posted this morning about ETA and mentioned that some airline agents are asking for it at airport preboarding. She provided a link to a new site where you can verify your ETA.
Frank - WOW - you are getting hit hard this trip. Good luck and great that hotel is so very accomodating!

The Feds are doing a rain dance to keep you in the country for your jury duty appointment? :-)

So the morning BA flight had gotten cancelled, but AA put you on the P.M. BA flight. Glad that it wasn’t full from BA passengers who’d gotten bumped from the A.M. to P.M.!

It probably won’t continue to “pour,” once you make it to the U.K. In Wales the past two weeks, it was exceedingly hot and dry the first week, both in the far south and the southern mountains. Along the north coast this week, it’s been considerably cooler and windy, with continual light rain on Saturday, but just cloudy the past two days. Forecast for the next week, Wales and London, says warm and almost completely dry.

Gosh -- hang in there Frank !! Hope you are done with the delays.

BA shows they had 3 flights depart JFK for LHR between 605PM and 640PM.

I wonder how backed up the immigration line is gong to be.

Hope you take off soon. I was in your shoes a few weeks ago (though not on first class) with a flight connecting at JFK that was on holding at arrival because of storms and had to land in Syracuse to refuel. Made it to JFK in time for next flight (a miracle) to then learn our flight was delayed to next morning, and then had flight canceled due to lack of crew. Thank you Delta. I got a $15 voucher which was laughable for JFK.
I won't go into details but we eventually left JFK and I just got reimbursed for my hotel night and meals. I booked on my own instead of waiting for vouchers or designated hotel.

Just saw this as well. Crazy day for air travel

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/28/us/american-airlines-flights-halted

Greetings from London. I made it.

AA put me on the 6:30 pm BA flight from JFK to LHR. It was full. We actually pushed back early and landed about 40 minutes early.

The BA plane was the same type as the AA plane but a lot newer and nicer. The food was better as well.

Arriving into T5 was a zoo. I had to push to get on the tram from the B gates to immigration. The walk, the escalators, everything was packed.

Luckily, however, it seemed that the majority of the arriving passengers went to the regular immigration lines. I went to the egates, there was no one in front of me, and I was through in seconds.

I then took the Piccadilly line to T2/3 where my hotel is and went up to my room. It's going to be in the low 90's here in London today so the a/c is going in my room.

I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. I was talking to a guy on my AA flight. He was originally on the Virgin morning flight. It was canceled and he was put on the AA flight. Then it got cancelled. I don't know what happened to him after that as I went to the lounge and he was waiting for his family to come back from the loo.

I hear about the AA issues once I landed in London.

Got up this morning and thought, I must check to see if Frank got there. lol Glad you made it through. Chalk it up as a less than lovely travel experience now, right? Hope the rest of your trip is wonderful!

Rain put a smile on this bloke's face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqbza59QeIM

I think this proves that no travel goes off without a hitch now and then.

Lots of flights were canceled or delayed due to weather. At one point, while waiting for my flight, JFK put a ground stop in effect because of weather. I wondered if that would affect my flight.

But, at the time of my departure, the line of thunderstorms stopped and we were able to get on our way. It also helped that JFK was utilizing two runways for takeoffs.

Interestingly, while waiting to talk to representatives from AA and BA--both of whom were working the lounge area--I heard the people in front and behind get angry, panic, make sarcastic comments. I stayed calm, talked to each rep peacefully, asked questions, and basically got what I wanted.

When things go south, remain calm. At least on the outside. Calmly talking to someone, and being polite and respectful, will get them to tune in a lot better.

Calmly talking to someone, and being polite and respectful, will get them to tune in a lot better.

Agreed. It is hard when you are in a state of panic with missed connections and ruined plans, but you can make it worse by being rude.

Glad to hear you are in London and got some rest with delayed check-in. I take you are soon off somewhere else?

Currently in upstate NY we're getting 4" of rain per hour. We usually get 4" in the entire month of July.... the front is pushing through tho and the airports down in the city all appear to be open.

Ftr, if anyone reading doesn't have it, this is the official National Airspace System site for whether an airport is up or not. https://nasstatus.faa.gov/