Thanks for the clarification on names and titles, RCyyz. I got back from my airport tour while M. Antinori was speaking and his authority and presentation made me assume he was LH's pres. He certainly was better informed than our lunch hour speaker [who actually was?]. I also concur with your impression of the various airline folk who hosted us, and made just that comment on the MegaDo thread. But it was also good to meet a few more AC/AE elites, and spend time with others met over the years.
I should add that the biggest issue with STAR is that their members still have final say on how things are implemented, so what the alliance managers would like to see may not always end up in application. But it was stressed that we need to pressure them (and our carriers/FF prgms) to fully participate in these initiatives. This ranges from SQ's refusal to released premium seats on the A380 and its newly configured 777s, access to lounges, etc. through to AC's not participating in mileage upgrading, and UA's STARNet blocking. (Note the IT enhancement will not be a booking engine, just a seat availability tool.)