Wait what? People actually say that first thing? The expected utility loss due to consequences of missing a flight are usually vastly greater than the time wasted by aiming to get there earlier. If people do say that, I suspect they must be the jet-setting elites who fly more than a hundred times in their life.
(Anecdote: in my case, the only time I missed a flight I got to my destination at the same time anyway, at no extra cost, albeit my luggage didn’t and there was some hassle about that. The cost of getting to the airport earlier would have been significant, since I’d have had to take a different mode of transport or stay there overnight.)
Afaik this is the post that popularized the phrase: https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=40
(Anecdote: in my case, the only time I missed a flight I got to my destination at the same time anyway, at no extra cost, albeit my luggage didn’t and there was some hassle about that. The cost of getting to the airport earlier would have been significant, since I’d have had to take a different mode of transport or stay there overnight.)