Those profit numbers are interesting. I read an article from a couple of years ago that said the Emirates Group, which includes DNATA, made half a billion. The airline itself made significantly less however, something in the range of low millions (I'll dig up the numbers).

I know that on the Tasman EK loses money hand over fist, as the economics don't support half empty airplanes and LCC prices. We barely make money on that route, in fact this past year was the first in many that we did, and we pretty much own it with QF. So where is all that money made? Even with the claw backs you guy's do pretty well money wise flying there. When I was in Bahrain I knew some FA's and they did OK as well, plus the housing was included. I get that, out of your main base at least, your fuel costs are well below ours, but at some point, to make any profit on long haul, the airline has to win as far as yield, and yield comes from filling business and first; not backpackers in the tail. I'll get in trouble here for comparing EK to Qatar and Gulf, but they bleed money and Qatar doesn't expect any change until 2011.

Are you guy's that full on most of the routes? Are the premium seats getting filled all the time? It just appears, at times and from afar, that the Middle East airline scene is full of Sheiks trying to see who has the biggest. . .

Why mess with the pilots at all when it is very clear that they will not be able to sustain the current and projected growth, even with cut rate S American and SE Asian pilots (just cut rate price wise chaps, I'm sure you're all kickass drivers).