BigGeordie,
That's what EK claim to be the case. Were any financial accounts
published for one to believe what is claimed? Personally I find it very hard to believe that EK were only unprofitable during its first year of operation. They started publishing their accounts after years in operation and due to increasing pressure from the aircraft manufacturers and leasing companies.
MD11 Flyer
I fully agree that when one mentions EK it sounds like one is making reference to Gold. In my opinion this is all due to a very good Marketing and
PR department. I have travelled a few times with EK and I have to say that their inflight service and customer care, although of a good standard, is on the way down and inconsistant. This is the reason why 'Skytrax' never classified the Emirates service as 5 star.
Qatar Airways, mostly thanks to their hard working cabin crew, manged to gain the 5 star status in a few years. In my opinion, Qatar Airways is the biggest threat to Emirates in the region and not Gulf Air and Eithad. The 'war' shall start when the new Doha international airport will open