Originally Posted by
PeyoNYC
and 2/ arriving near the cut-off time happened to me a few times in the past, including arriving one day after departure on a super cheap LH Y ticket, and they always got me on board for free or a nominal fee.
I don't feel entitled to anything
Whether you choose to call it "entitlement" or not, it seems to me that you are at the very least "expecting" that the airline would find a solution when you miss the check in deadline that will not involve your having lost your ticket.
Most airlines won't, and for better or worse, the trend is towards more inflexibility rather than less.
Ultimately, as others pointed out, you missed your flight. It is very frustrating but not in any way the airline's fault. This can be covered by travel insurance, or sometimes by calling the airline ahead of time, or of course by adding a very large cushion to the time we plan to arrive at the airport (fully aware that in NYC there is sadly no fully safe recipe on that front). GGL gets you fast and competent service, but not a suspension of rules. Moreover, in case you had any doubt, the airline will not reimburse the FFP for the ticket in case of a missed departure, so here, you are asking BAEC to give you some money (avios) back when they have parted with it and have no way of getting it back themselves.