While looking up a flight from LAX to TLV I came up with the following confusing information

Flight 90 originating in LAX but stopping in EWR including a plane change is listed as 7353 miles
If on the other hand I take flight 1403 from LAX to EWR and then connect to the same 90 as above I get for the first flight 2454 miles and for the second, 5692 for a total of 8146 miles
How is this possible? It is the same route with the same stops
Any clarification would be appreciated

Airlines often list flights with stops like this and call them "direct" because they show up at the top of travel agent listings, higher than flights with connections. If you take a "direct" flight, however, you earn the point-to-point mileage from your start to your destination. Even more galling is the fact that airlines often keep the same flight number on such itineraries but force a change of aircraft. So, you could have a connection and not earn the proper segment mileage/credits.

In this case, when ticketed as flight 90 all the way through, you earn mileage LAX-TLV instead of LAX-EWR-TLV. You can often have a direct flight ticketed with each segment listed separately and then you would receive mileage for each segment. You just need to know to ticket it that way. In this case that would be flight 90 LAX-EWR connecting to flight 90 EWR-TLV.

Yup, CO and others do it all the time The two that come to mind first are IAH-EWR-PEK and in my case IAH-HNL-GUM, where the equipment actually does not change, but you have to get off the plane, and on the way back clear immigration / customs. And I'm not 100 percent sure, but belive it's CO to Hawaii and CO Micronesia from Hawaii to Guam

EmailKid

This is also true on the CO flight from HNL to EWR; you actually change planes in IAH but CO tells you it's a direct flight. I may be wrong, but I seem to remember getting more mileage for the direct EWR-HNL flight than HNL-IAH-EWR.

Methinks you mean IAH instead of IAD...

Does taking a CO "direct" flight to a foreign destination or Hawaii disqualify you from getting an elite upgrade on the otherwise upgradeable legs? Can you get upgraded on one sector of the "direct" flight if F is full on the other?

I know both are a problem on NW.

It breaks EUA. I have been told that you can standby for an upgrade on the "domestic" portion... best to do this in the PC. It also messes up seat assignments. I took CO49 this summer EWR->IAH->OGG. The agent in the PC was having a great time fixing people in "K" seats on a 752.

NW won't even allow standby elite upgrades on the SEA-MSP portion of their direct KOA-SEA-MSP, if booked as one flight. They claim the system can't handle it.