Thank you all for your contributions!
I just want to bring something up that might be considered fluffy but believe me, it is damn important and EK is so undermining this in their cc management... (previous consulting\psychology\HR management experience here...)
I agree that logistically, involving the purser is much simpler than the whole 380 crew. No arguing there, specially when u have to make decisions on the spot.
But I just wanted to bring something up related to this.
EK is hiring all these kids (average age 21-26 - it's rare to know any new joiners older than this, nowadays..) some straight of college. Most of them, westerners, are well educated, a whole different generation, smart, with access to information and most of them brought up, not with warnings and punishment, but more with negotiation skills by their parents... they do want to be involved, they feel entitled and want to be part of things. If you just shut them down with 'you're doing what I'm telling you and that's it', they will leave (like they have...)! The world is too small for them and it's easy to change nowadays and this kind of disposable policy from EK is totally messing up the company's goal of being the ''aviation gourmet\top of the top'' reference... just go into skytrax and check comments on cabin crew. ahaha...
Sorry for the long post... this stuff was mentioned on the EK forums and I was astonished when the guys listening there said they had never looked at things this way... (wtfff..... i seriously hoped they were joking or something...)