We have seen that the A340 flies to Sidney and Melbourne, not Perth. We were considering commuting from one of those cities. Interesting about possible bases in Oz? Is this just a rumour or something definite to hope for? What's this about April??? We are very keen to settle our kids in Oz asap. Maybe one year in Dubai is ok, but thereafter we would like to move to Oz to give kids max chance to grow up there. Bases would be a wonderful solution, but most probably is too vague an option to depend on? Traffic problems/danger on the roads is a huge concern for us in going to Dubai; we don't want to leave crime problems and then go straight into another type of problem. Any info about possible future bases in Oz would be most welcome as it would give us a way out of Dubai. Is this wishful thinking? If we join Emirates should we accept that Dubai is very much part of the package for as long as we are part of the Airline?