As a happy Emirates customer I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with
Tableview on this one.
It's true that Dubai can be a bit of a nightmare to transit- long overnight transfers are particularly awful- but MAN has three flights a day to DXB so there's a good chance you'll be able to book a connection which doesn't involve too much waiting around. Daytime connections tend to be fine and if you have more than around 5 hours between flights then you are entitled to a free meal voucher (although they never tell people this
).
On
PhilW1981's first two criteria, EK are very strong (in my opinion). They operate a fleet of comfortable modern aircraft, their onboard service and catering options are usually excellent and every passenger has their own personal in flight entertainment. This is usually an 'on demand' system allowing you to watch an extensive selection of videos at leisure (although some of their older airframes have multiple channels instead- you can check on their website before you book). EK also serve a lot of Indian destinations directly from Dubai which could be beneficial if you are traveling to destinations beyond the major international gateways.
I'm also a big fan of Skywards (Emirates frequent flyer programme). I've found it to be pretty good in terms of mileage accrual and redemption options. Despite this I doubt you'd earn enough miles to do anything decent. You'll earn at least 3,750 miles for every trip to India (possibly more). A reward flight between the UK and Dubai will set you back 42,500 miles- that's a lot of trips to India
. Skywards miles remain valid for around three years so if you expect to do a bit more traveling during this time then it might be worthwhile chasing the miles. Having said that, experience has taught me that you're usually best off treating frequent flyer programmes as added bonuses rather than letting them influence your choice of airline...