Originally Posted by
Nippon_Koukuu
.. Passengers in the premium cabins paid a lot of money to that particular airline, whereas status members could have gotten status by mostly flying a much cheaper alliance airline.
Could have, might have, should have .... who knows?
Airlines probably/hopefully have an inkling. And many have decided that within their alliances they value their most frequent flyers over one-off travellers in premium cabins. At their hubs some carriers break this mould by providing exclusive facilities outside the general Alliance rules.
Policies may change. But for the moment, there we are. It's one of those injustices life throws at us, and although this
is Flyertalk
, we might leave the OP to tilt alone at this particular windmill.