With airline IT systems, it's never a case of "a simple matter of programming, and there its done...".

But my wise friend, you do have a valid point. EK could well adopt what you describe. I reckon it would piss off a lot more people (me included) than its worth, but then again...

Keeping the current set of Golds happy (ie the ones who are demonstrating loyalty today) to me is far more important than creating some sort of level playing field from some date in the future.

And what about this scenario. If the QF/EK "marriage" receives its blessing from the regulators, and the alliance is launched 01 April, that means existing Golds might only have 3-months to qualify to the new level, meaning Qantas Plats, Platinum One's and Chairmans Lounge members will beat 99% of us.