Originally Posted by
Punki
...I want credit for all of the miles I actuallly fly, and unless and until I hear a logical reason why I should not get them, I will make every effort to do so...
Well, I hate to be the one breaking it to you, but you'll
never get credit for the miles you
actually fly
You see, you'll get credited a set number of miles for any given city pair based on the great circle route distance between those two points. The actual number is, well, somewhat arbitrary to the specific mileage program or airline (compare UA- and LH-operated SFO-FRA flights, for example)... or in other words, the program's rules
...
In reality, you will fly a greater number of miles, as you have departure routes, you'll often fly on a series of connecting jetways that form anything but a straight line between the city pairs, there are airfield approaches, there's vectoring for sequencing, and sometimes even holding patterns and whatnot... but, guess what... you'll
never get credit for those
actually-flown miles
Now, that is a perfectly logical reason and explanation to me, though I suspect it may not be to you—after all, at the end of the day it comes down to the program's rules or, to paraphrase you, 'the way things are done'... things for which you seem to exhibit some disdain since, as you say, "
they carry no weight with [you]."
Having said all that, yes, the 'direct-flight' policy can often be frustrating and annoying. But like with all rules and policies, one simply needs to learn to work them to one's advantage (such as breaking up the direct flight into its segments)... There are also a number of cases where a direct flight can be advantageous (an RTW when one is running short on coupons and/or miles comes readily to mind).
And for the record, 'direct flights' are an industry-wide practice not limited to UA... I expect most savvy travelers have become aware of them by now @:-)