That's where they can just get on the PA and say "thank you everyone up front for being a GS or 1K, they are basically the same thing to this airline now and this flight is why, welcome aboard!"

Had a pretty poor outcome this week (though, admittedly, it was weather and NZ's fault in addition to UAs). Still the IRROPs was pretty horrible. Stuck in IAH on Monday/Tuesday given the weather trying to get to AKL. Spent literally two days with GS trying to accomplish this via LAX/SFO. The IAH direct on NZ kept getting cancelled because IAH was basically closed for 24+ hours and the equipment never got there. I was on a paid C RT (016 ticket). Ultimately, gave up on Wednesday AM as the trip became in vain. Along the way, the only viable route on which they could confirm a single seat all the way through that was offered to me was IAH > SFO > AKL in deep steerage and I even accepted that just for the sake of getting to SFO and seeing what NZ could do for me or what UA could do via SYD and then they cancelled the IAH > SFO flight!

As you can imagine, IAH was a mess. Couldn't even get my checked bag back before I gave up and left IAH for home on Wednesday. Ran in to numerous GS agents who couldn't for the life of them figure out how to clean up my rather messy itinerary so NZ could take it over (when I was trying to explore the last direct IAH > AKL option). I was told by one GS agent named Karen that I shouldn't book a codeshare again. I kind of giggled and just said "well that would certainly make the world much smaller and simpler, yes).

It was weather, I get that, but no one I spoke to over 2.5 days at United/GS .... about my predicament. I was calm and appreciative in every conversation but I was told multiple times "there is nothing we can do" only to offer them a viable solution and then have them disappear on hold for 15 minutes to come back and be like "oh, yeah, that was feasible but in the time it took me the seat on X leg is gone." Just deeply annoying.

Hopefully that's my year of IRROPs experience in one trip!