I was rather surprised to hear the names of some of the starters for lunch at Aussie Legends next week and how many admitted to going. 3 days of interviews, even if every pilot being interviewed isn't from EK, most will be, and we're talking a lot of pilots.
If even one on four of those who turn up for the interview decide to walk the walk, EK will have a crisis on their hands, and very soon - like before the end of the year. They'll have to re-address their policy on basings (or park some aeroplanes over on the fence by the 707), 'coz that's the point nearly every one I spoke to made to me. They're willing to take a major hit in the pocket to get their families out of the madhouse Dubai has become, but they'd stay if A.A.R. or T.C. would agree to them flying a roster with some pairings starting and finishing in Australia.
It's going to happen eventually, but probably not before they've lost too many of the kind of people they should be doing everything they can to keep with their current expansion plans.