The staffing problem could be easily fixed in the same way they solve any problem in this part of the world. Throw money at it. A significant increase in pay would attract all the candidates they need. The resulting numbers could then be used to improve life style by reducing individual flying hours and increasing days off. This would, in turn, attract even more people and make EK the premier job in the industry. Sure, it would cut a little into the 1 billion plus profits, but it would fix the problem.
The rhetorical question then: will EK management see beyond their short term profits (which would still be staggeringly high) and look at long term, sustainable and stable growth strategies?
The only thing stopping EK from taking over the planet is staffing and there is no one willing to turn the ship from the iceberg looming in front.
p.s. just ran some very rough numbers and here's what I came up with. Based on current staffing levels and everything else remaining equal, EK could raise starting FO pay to 36000 dhs and starting CA pay to 50000 dhs and it would cost about 30 million dhs annually. Considering their 5 Billion dhs profit, its a drop in the bucket.