Nick, the thing is that generally when you are talking about this level of flying, you have to be cognizant of what happens outside of just Europe as almost by definition many of those customers that we are talking about here could just as easily qualify for any program (within reason) should they choose.
1) Yes you are right, I did mean GGL rather than Premiere, my error.
2) This is where I somewhat agree. Taking myself as an example, and several people I know..........I fly enough to maintain top status on several carriers every year for quite a few years, in the good seats, with enough left over that I can push for a top level IF I WISH, While other airlines have made their ultra high levels very desirable with chauffered driven cars, extra special lounges, upgrades, etc AFKL has not done this at all. WOrse, by promising things and seemingly almost never delivering them, they are making their best customers angry. I have seen people gush about their GGL and Hons, Ultimate is an embarrassment.
3) Yes the extra upgrades, are not directly linked however you earn them lock in step with how many Tier Points you have, so someone with GGL almost
You may by definition has twice as many as someone who did not hit that threshold, even by 100 points. Similarly at least until very recently CR earning was also pretty much in lock step with GGL earning. So yes when you add these to the other things, that would make something like 5 our of 6 things that AFKL does not have.And BTW, having been GGL, I can say that it is actually not that impressive, but a hell of a lot better than AFKL's offering. I would throw an extra TA Biz trip or two to hit it, I would not do the same for Ultimate.
You may not be familiar with all the programs, but go take a look around the forums here on FT. While there are people who pooh pooh everything, you will see that many people are proud of their statuses, and others strive for them. Again no such talk here on the AFKL forums