Well, TCs greed might have f##cked him up anyway. With the bunk in the rear there is no way EK can ever operate with only one captain and two fos for shorter trips. I know they tried, but it is illegal according GCAA. So they need to block 1 F or two C seats. A loss both ways, salary wise or pax wise. How easy and finally cheaper would it have been to buy the aircraft as it was initially designed.....
Sure enough they might convince the incompetent local talent for a exemption one day, but that will be the straw to brake their favorite camels back. I don't think that any sane captain will accept rest so far away, and if any foreign regulator gets a sniff of it, this might do it for once. Or even they lose face.