I was once on the standby list for a flight to Madrid with BA because economy was overbooked. They asked me to wait by the check-in desk, and then 20 minutes before take-off they told me I had got lucky and whisked me through security...
...and on to an almost entirely empty plane. I had four rows to myself.
The woman who had been sat next to me in the "standby pool" was not picked - and so she missed her connecting flight to Guatemala which flew once a week, because there wasn't room for her on an empty plane.
I've had overwhelmingly positive experiences with BA, but it's still the stupidest thing I've ever seen an airline do.
I once missed a flight from Detroit to Newark because it pushed back 20 minutes early (using thrust reversers off the gate) ... ah the 1980s.
Seriously though, how can you trust calling an airline rep on the phone who could give a rat's ass (probably in South Africa for LX), when you can normally use persuasion if required at the gate by checking in on time? I actually find that the Swiss App on my iPhone works great, never had an issue. Of course there can be cancellations, I was stuck in CPH for a night just before Christmas, but the Hilton was good enough as compensation.
If you are a Senator (Gold) on Lufthansa or Swiss, and if the plane is not full, there is a very good chance that they will block the seat next to yours and keep it empty. This is an unwritten rule (so you cannot demand it), but seems to be the practice especially on Lufthansa. In addition, only Senators or Hons can book priority seats, usually the ones with extra leg room, or single seats in Swiss business class.
I find Swiss typical in trying to talk passengers out of claiming their seats, or trying to weasel themselves out of paying compensation, which is what the OP experienced. It has happened to me a couple of times. Every time, it pays to stay firm. These are fully paid, confirmed, non-standby tickets after all.
NB: Swiss will not let you book priority seats if you are Gold status via United. I've tried that several times unsuccessfully. It has actually made me question whether I should move over to "Miles and More" with Swiss/LH but I really don't care to have to start from scratch.
But you are absolutely correct that, with these folks, it pays to stand firm. Sometimes literally.
The UNITED/SWISS thing is simple. UNITED is an utter pile of shite and SWISS isn't.
Business on UNITED is a complete waste of time. No seat power plugs so you can't do business. So you try and while a way a few hours with their wanky entertainment system - which is neither on demand or hooked up to a screen capable of showing anything better than VGA. The food is shite and the stewardesses are some of least attractive I ever experienced - although it is tough call between UNITED, DELTA and AA (notice a theme here).
Swiss on the other hand gives you a flat bed (although once flat the ventilation is a bit odd and temperatures head northwards), power point to enable "Business", on demand entertainment, food served on a plate and actually tastes like it was actually a living thing (and that includes the vegetables).
I can't vouch for economy - but then who flies economy? Seriously?
(And while we are on that subject - money doesn't always buy you the best service. My case in point, the first class passenger pulled by immigration at Newark yesterday evening. Or Pep Guardiola if you want to use his common name)
Sometimes, you depend on your own flexibility. I once had a booking on Air Malta Malta-London but had to learn that they were overbooked for five days. I after some negotiations got a double-flight ticket for Air Malta to Paris and a Paris-London flight on British Caledonian the next day. I once had a booking on Danair for Jersey-London but had to learn that they were overbooked on all London-bound flights for days, so that I finally got a replacement ticket for Jersey-Bournemouth and then in Bournemouth took the train. A train with a very nice bistro and an excellent Mont de Ventoux. I once had a booking on a flight Banjul-Dakar on a Gambian company which had ceased operations shortly before. I donated photocopies out of the Flight-ABC to the travel agency and got a replacement-ticket onto Ghana Airways. "up up and away " , once again
An old boss of mine used to tell me that only two things were important in life: the type of car you drive and where you sit on an airplane.
I've since learned that it's really all about the type of bike you use on the five-minute commute to work and how often you don't have to sit in an airplane.
I love the electronic world (just 'discovered' reading and synchronising epubs between my idevices, why did I never do this before, and why did I try to read PDFs rather than a sensible format like epub?), but I *always* print off a boarding pass. I then keep that with my passport. Even with a few beers, I can usually find that immediately and know the boarding pass will *work*
I had the opportunity to fly on a Danair Comet 4B for a week as my parents had a friend who was a Captain. It was an unforgettable experience. The flight deck (aka as the Cave) was quite (very) dark, but quite big as there were 5 seats in it: two pilots, 1 flight engineer, 1 radio operator/navigator and an extra seat. Naturally, the radio operator/navigator was no longer necessary, but the panel was there with the radio equipment still.
There was a hatch in the roof that had been used for a sextant for navigation. It was also used to shove the Union Jack through after landing when royalty or a a high ranking government official was on board. This hatch iced over at altitude and when the plane descended for landing the ice melted and caused a mini rain shower.