Mana
You're missing the point. Sure, what we pay for a First ticket is a fraction of the cost but I'd guess that only about 5-7% of EK employees could avail of that perk anyway.
There are several issues here. Firstly, Cat A subload fares have risen around 20-30%. I don't think actual full fares have risen that much so why the large increase. An extra 70 dirhams to Europe may not seem much but when you're a family of five and you add the return fare, that's suddenly an EXTRA 700 dirhams.
Secondly, the majority of EK staff are expats. It's obvious therefore how important staff travel is to most. You only have to read the comments on the staff travel website to realise that many accept a lower pay in compensation for rebated staff travel. Many relied on cat 99 and wider eligibility tickets for visiting families. This has been replaced by a supposedly improved system offering greater flexibility. The principle is great, the reality is less so. Why would you book these 'special' tickets knowing that a simple visit to Emirates.com will achieve cheaper results! Staff friends are being charged MORE than the public. Calling it absurd is an understatement.
Which leads me onto the final issue. Why send that announcement from HH to tell us what a wonderful job has been done by ST and it's a reward for our loyalty and commitment. Really? Either he's not aware that we've just had a reduction in benefits or he's treating the staff as ignorant fools. I doubt it's the latter so something's gone horribly wrong somewhere.
Staff travel is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep moral of an airlines workforce high. Screw that up and things will go rapidly down hill, guaranteed!
Harry