Most important is having an enlightened leader who will not give way to the entitled Saudi nationals.
Having worked with EK, I found it refreshing that we did not have much interference from the top.. and this goes all the way to Sheikh Al-Maktoum. Compared to the the neighbouring 'goat' airline where a passenger who was late for check-in made a call to HQ and the station manager was ordered to accept the late pax. Said station manager was also reprimanded.
The above also applies to hiring and firing... while we did have our share of nationals in EK, for the most part they did contribute instead of just warming the seats.
UAE nationals never gave any problems... it was usually the Saudis (of course), Syrians, Kuwaitis and Egyptians that gave us a hard time.
Having seen the Saudis at work first hand I think they'll have some way to go before they worry the ME3.
Anilv