Ek`s fares are fairly good value from all but one place, thats the UAE. They rely on the fact that they operate the majority of direct flights to Europe, the Far East and Australia to charge over inflated prices from Dubai.
I rarely travel Emirates as it is often almost twice the price of other carriers. As an example its over 100 ponds cheaper to fly Emirates from LHR to BKK via DXB than it is just to fly DXB-BKK.
Some colleagues actually take an extra flight out of Dubai to pick up Emirates flights in places like Doha or Mumbai as this can save thousands of pounds if you are travelling as a family.