Had a similar experience in MUC for an LH flight to FRA (also a 789). The automated boarding lanes make a difference IMO, in particular the fact there are 2+ scanning machines which is not the case on many occasions at UA hubs. The amount of pre-boarding (and even regular) groups w/UA definitely complicates the process and sometimes confuses pax. Even boarding an LH flight at JFK was simplified - you're either priority or not. But LH was a little more relaxed about the whole process to begin with vs UA being a little bit more uptight which probably has more to do with cultural differences than specific boarding procedures. When I flew QF, they casually boarded a 250+ seat aircraft 30 mins before departure on a domestic route.