From the airlines point of view, they have to make a cut off point to allow time for all the despatch paperwork to be put in place.

Whatever point they decide on will always hurt somebody who falls just outside it, and it's at this stage they post here on FT crying foul.

If we all agree there has to be such a cut off (as we'd never fly otherwise), we should also be able to accept that we may occasionally fall on the wrong side of it.