Everyone is required to be based in DXB except for staff who work in outstations. EK will never have basings (that's what we are told). What would really make life a lot more pleasurable is to have commuting lines where we can "live" in our home countries.
If this happened, it would in my mind turn around the leakage of pilots to other airlines. It would also reduce costs for EK.
Again EK is not willing to look at commuting lines.