Is there anyone who thinks that this is not a good idea, from a business point of view?

If you have the choice, non-stops are often more expensive than connections, seldom the other way around. Connections must be more costly for the carrier - complexity of processing, higher risk of costly mis-connects, bumps etc. There's often a slight extra yield enhancement from the shorter distance flown on a non-stop.

I always failed to see a rational case for giving status as a reward for pure sector count, when that can be driven up so easily by booking ridiculous connections with no direct benefit to the airline.