Originally Posted by
caaardiff
Re-ticketing shouldn't have been a huge issue for LH to sort either.
You'd think so, wouldn't you. But no, it was a major undertaking involving UA, SN, LH and BM. If you use BM as part of a complex intercontinental itin, it's not simple.
On the subject of lounge access, the lounge staff at BRU were fairly weary of explaining to Star Gold members why they could no longer access the lounge, despite nothing apparently changing to the flight except the flight number changing. Maybe some communication to passengers (or even BMs own call centre staff) would have helped that.
Then there's the problem of Star Alliance redemptions (or earning) suddenly disappearing. And the LH codeshare numbers falling off the route, so it couldn't be rebooked on tickets valid only for LH but not SN or BM.
I think if you feel that switching the operating airline has a trivial effect, you probably are under estimating it.