Thanks everyone for your replies/tips. The staff at the gate were not in BMI uniform, and Menzies does ring a bell now you mention it... The cabin crew certainly were in BMI uniform but were handing out Lufthansa catering. I did check again on the BMI site, and all the indications are that you're booking BMI for this route - no mention of LH codeshare, just the words "operated by BMI."
I travel a lot for work, but not really to the Stans or Middle East. Maybe I should just switch to a more compatible Star Alliance FF scheme. Lufthansa, perhaps...
