I don't fly CX and was wondering if the regulars could provide some information.

I was talking to a friend recently and he mentioned that he once got miles for checking in for a flight but never boarding. I ended up searching and basically he had a paper ticket for YVR-HKG-TPE and he checked in for both segments at YVR and received two boarding passes, YVR-HKG and HKG-TPE. However, according to him, the check-in agent at YVR lifted the flight coupon for YVR-HKG at check-in. He still has the HKG-TPE flight coupon though and his boarding pass for HKG-TPE saids flight coupon required while the YVR-HKG boarding pass does not say this.

A check on his AsiaMiles statement shows that he got mileage for YVR-HKG but not HKG-TPE. My friend never went past security and never entered the gate area, but his flight coupon was lifted at check-in.

My question is, is it normal for CX to lift flight coupons at check-in rather than at the gate? I've called CX reservations about this and they say it's standard procedure.

My personal experience on other airlines (AC, UA, LH), however, is totally opposite. Whenever I have paper tickets, the flight coupons are always lifted at the gate when I am at the boarding pass reader. They are never lifted at check-in.

Is this a CX or a oneworld thing? I find it extermely odd that the flight coupon is lifted well before boarding.

Thanks in advance.