Quod boy
A couple of subtle differences.
Hong Kong was an independent economy that was not ruled by one family. It was probably the most capitalist place on earth for a period. That is a far cry from Dubai where Emirates is a government owned company where the governments entire purpose is to grow the Dubai economy. Cathay was a publicly owned company (the swire portion anyway). Therefore its overiding mission was to return financial results to the owners.
Yes a lot of pilots send some money home. I dont think many send half of it home. Regardless, the other half stays here. Cabin crew send very little home, nearly all of their money stays here.
If you had basings, all of it would go out of the country. Dubai imports almost everything it consumes, so at the moment, the only thing that keeps the balance of payments in check is the oil exports. When the oil stops there will have to be increased measures to stop capital from flowing out of the country.
With an A340 stuck downroute,through sickness,or tech,and looking to A380,cancelling flights downroute(AKL?SYD?JFK?) will have major implications,for crew duty limits,and getting crew together.
Quite right, but why is that different to a 777 stuck in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Brisbane, Jo'burg or any other destination we operate to. In short it isn't. EK have been operating this way for years, willing to accept the risk. Statistics show that the gamble is paying off. When was the last time you heard of an aircraft being stuck down route because of crewing reasons?
I agree that basings would be an excellent addition to our package. But given the way our management thinks it would not surprise me to see them offered to DEC's rather than us.
I for one am not holding my breath.
dmf