Personally, I use Google Maps to see hotel prices and book directly on the hotels website. I don�t like using third parties to book a hotel.

IF you missconnect in LHR, you will be rebooked, and the likelihood of going through DFW is low.

Thank you to all. I think the life lessons are:

1. Be prepared for alternate flight requests if we misconnect in LHR. Ask the BA agent for our first choice, rather than what they give us as the default.

2. If we do connect, and end up in DFW overnight, look on Google maps to find a hotel.

Thanks again!

Looks like you're on the 13:05 flight from DBV-LHR which is scheduled for a 15:00 arrival. It gets into terminal 5 so you have to rush to get to terminal 3 where your AA flight leaves from. The 16:25 AA is the last convenient flight to the US with everything later, TAP, SAS. BA etc. stopping overnight somewhere in Europe. In fact your original flight overnights in DFW with an early AM flight DFW-TPA. There plenty of hotels, Hyatts, HIX, HI, Marriotts, at DFW. If you're delayed in LHR, LGW doesn't have anything later except the overnights in Europe cities so you should insist of an hotel and F&B comp plus the UK261 compensation. There is a BA nonstop from LGW-TPA which you could insist on the next day at 12:50 and BA/AA should pay for the bus there. I've never stayed out near LGW but there should be hotels they can put you in there and best to go there right away if they put you on that flight.

Good luck.

Thank you, rbAA. Yes, it looks like that BA Gatwick to Tampa the next day would be an ideal option. My further questions:

1. Will our luggage be caught before it gets on the AA flight to DFW. If so, where do we retrieve it at Heathrow?

2. We are on an economy award, but our AA seats are Main Cabin Extra due to my husband's lifetime Platinum Status. What seating can we expect from BA? Just emergency row if it's available? Or what else?

3. If we are put on a bus to Gatwick, how do we get to our airport hotel, and then back to Gatwick the next day?

4. Since we would be losing Kosher meals on our AA flight, what can we expect BA to do about it? What sort of monetary compensation can we expect for food and beverage?

5. How do I file a UK261 claim, or maybe I'm jumping the gun on that one. In the meantime, do I need to keep our boarding passes, etc?

Thank you!

1. BA will likely not transfer your luggage if they think that you cannot make the connection. And if they do transfer the luggage, AA would likely offload it if you did not actually board the AA flight. You would retrieve your luggage at the BA baggage office in T5, or the AA baggage office in T3, depending on how far your bags got at LHR.

2. I expect that you would end up in standard BA Coach seats if you took the LGW-TPA nonstop the next day. By the time you were reticketed on that flight, there's a high likelihood that all exit-row seats would have been snagged by other elites. But maybe you'll luck out.

3. Choose a hotel at LGW with a free airport shuttle. Priceline.com can be used just to check for hotels with such shuttles even if you do not actually book via Priceline.

4. I doubt that you would get anything from BA for being rebooked too late to secure a kosher meal. You can try purchasing some kosher snacks at LGW to bring aboard, and see if BA will reimburse for that. BA should reimburse for reasonable food, lodging, and ground transportation expenses; keep receipts for everything. But if you keep kosher, I'm not sure what your options for dinner at either LHR or LGW would be. The BA lounge at LHR T5 might have some kosher food offerings.

5. Keep all boarding passes (and receipts if you are forced to overnight in London). You can ask about EU/UK 261 reimbursement (I'm not sure which one applies since your trip starts in the EU and ends in the US) if and when you need to make such a claim. BA at LHR might also be able (required?) to provide you with a brochure explaining your rights in the event that you misconnect.

All good answers above. It's possible BA or AA would keep you at LHR and put you on the next day's flight. There would be a choice of LHR-CLT-TPA all in one day or LHR-ORD-TPA which would get you in one day as well but try to request the LGW-TPA nonstop. Since you would be more than 4 hours later than your originally scheduled arrival, you each can claim 600 euros, I don't know the exact GBP's amount, plus enough to cover dinner and breakfast and drinks costs plus a hotel. When my GF and I had an 8 hour delay of a VIE-MXP flight, OS gave us a 20 euro voucher, so you should insist upon more. Your special meal will be probably be lost since that request most be made 24 hours in advance, but it never hurts to ask. Keeping receipts for anything out of pocket and remember to note the time you get off the plane because if you don't have much of a delay, it's on you to make the next flight if possible. 85 minutes is not alot of time to go from a satellite of T5 to T3, but it can be done. If your DBV flight was getting into LGW, you could request BA to change your ticket in advance to the LGW-TPA flight and you pay your own ground costs, which is something you could do delay or no if they still have room on that flight with the award and the right agent. There's a bus that will go from LHR to LGW and since you would need a hotel anyway at DFW, you offer to cover the hotel at LGW. With an award, you can do that now through AA. Same day changes are also common if you explain that you only have 85 minutes, at best, to make the flight at LHR. LHR and LGW are co-terminals so it makes sense to suggest it.

Thank you, guv1976 and rbAA. Great information, and I will keep reviewing and absorbing. Two more questions:

1. Is it acceptable manners to ask the BA flight attendants to let us deplane first? This would be on the flight arriving from Dubrovnik.

2. If we miss the LHR connection, are we allowed to enter any of the One World lounges (Qantas, Cathay, AA) before we leave the airport? They typically have Kosher frozen meals.

Thanks again.

The LT PLT should get you into the business class lounges at LHR (or LGW if that happens) if you had the time. Deplaning first is problematic because the FAcan't really stop the front pax from standing up and exiting before you.

Thank you again, rbAA!

Even if the passengers are re-booked onto a flight departing the next day?

Thank you, guv1976, I was wondering that myself. Could we enter the lounge if the flights are the next day, and then re-enter the lounge before boarding?

I don't know what BA's specific policies are, but here is the oneworld policy:

"Emerald and Sapphire members may invite one guest to join them in the lounge. The guest must also be travelling on a flight operated and marketed by a oneworld carrier. You must be prepared to show your boarding pass and frequent flyer membership card, with oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier status, to access a lounge. Access is available on the day of travel (or before 06:00am the following day), at the airport from which the oneworld flight on which the eligible customer is travelling departs."

No not likely. Since all choices would the the next day probably denied admission. Unless of course they find someone who doesn't know the rules or doesn't check their rebooking status.