TE RANGI I am inclined to agree with you. It amazes me how EK Pilots all seem to stand up for this Captain who showed a lack of Airmanship. They all want to blame EK training dept 100% . He totally ignored all visual clues. He did not help his cause by doing a Flex T/O. When I was on the A340 I rarely did flex T/O's unless very light and only on smooth runways and when operating as second Captain on long haul flights I was horrified at times to see how some Captains did reduced thrust at most inappropriate places and conditions.I think they were worried that the F/O would sneak on them!!