You're right that it wouldn't take much for EK to be great again. We have arbitrary rules that materially affect our quality of life and have no effect on the amount of money the company makes. A good example of this is the 'maximum of 5 days off in a row' rule. Why? They say it's to prevent roster compression and subsequent fatigue issues. This is nonsense because it's exactly what they do to us when we have vacation. In my opinion it's solely because of jealousy on the part of people who never have to work on weekends or public holidays.
In the old days if you had a problem and needed a day off you could call your Fleet Manager (remember Leroy?) or even crew control, and they would alway help you if it was possible. On the other hand, personally, I always would help them in return. Now, forget it! Their policies have come back to haunt them and the chickens seem finally to be coming home to roost. As I said, it wouldn't take much to improve things, but unfortunately, a mindset is often the hardest thing to change.