One last shot at the "rerouting to a different airline" because this may have a bearing on individual practice.
Assuming that an X-Airline FF purchased a ticket. To begin with, not everyone cares about FF benefits, but some do and some do to an excess. For those that are rerouted and take no action to recover a "lost" benefit, that's their prerogative. Some do take an action to recover the "lost" benefit. This is not theft; it is recovery.
Had X-Airline automatically credited the FF with miles not flown with X-Airline, then I believe the credit is still warranted. The X-Airline FF sought to take advantage of the service offered, purchased the ticket, and was prepared to fly with X-Airline, but was denied the service. The automatic credit could be considered "good will" to keep the FF loyal.
Absent an automatic posting, had the FF sought, and X-Airline then credited the miles not flown, then I believe the credit is still warranted. Same reasoning, but, in this case, X-Airline had the option to say "No," but elected to say "Yes."
Does it meet the exact language of the FF program? No, so if they say "No," then you know how they value your loyalty.
Some of us value time and loyalty. Had I stood in line (either at the airport, CTO, travel agency, or Web-site) and completed my purchase (apologies to Efrem), then I expected to take advantage of the service for which I contracted. A denial of service requires me to stand in line again (ticket printed, endorsed, etc.).
As I see it, there are several reroutings that can occur and I offer my view on mileage resolutions for each (I expect that there are others); the airline can still say "No" to any that do not meet the program rules, but they are likely to lose the "good will" of a loyal FF:
(1) Rerouted on same airline to the same (or equivalent; i.e., JFK=LGA=EWR) location(either a direct route or indirect route, taking more or less segments) -- no additional mileage from that actually earned.
(2) Rerouted on same airline to an alternate location (and alternate service to original destination; e.g., JFK-ORD replaced with JFK-DTW on X-Airline and DTW-ORD on Y-Airline) -- mileage from origin to destination should be credited (independent of mileage to alternate location).
(3) Rerouted on alternate airline -- mileage from origin to destination should be credited (independent of mileage accrual from alternate service).
Any other thoughts?
[This message has been edited by BravoZulu (edited 09-03-2001).]