The new status system seems to acknowledge the reality of fortress hubs, by making it relatively more difficult for Dieter in Darmstadt to achieve status compared to Laurent in Lyon. If LH can get Laurent SEN or HON, he's choosing a connection in FRA or MUC over DXB, AMS, CDG, LHR, etc. Conversely, if Dieter loses status, is he going to choose a connection over direct from FRA?

There may well be a shift in the geographic distribution of SENs and HONs.