Theidler,
I agreed with everything you said, right up until you said education was free in the US/UK/OZ. When you are paying up to 50% in taxes, which in part goes to education, I would not consider it FREE by any means.
When one lives in one of the most expensive cities in the world, when the stated goal of management that EK will be the premier airline in the world, when everything here is supposed to be the biggest and or best......I would say that the pay should match the stated goals of those in charge. Fifth or sixth highest paid is pitiful in every respect. But I would say his estimate is way off. Maybe tenth highest. Even that's a stretch.