Back in the 1980s Cathay was THE airline for a pilot to fly for. "A" scale pay meant that a Captain from another airline joining CX as an F/O doubled his income in some cases.
Now with the pay scales moving down through the alphabet, lesser experienced pilots had to be taken on as second officers and progressed from there.
I can see the same thing happening at Emirates, with its extensive long and ultra long haul network S/Os are a perfect fit. Pay junior rates for someone to fill the seat while the expensive jockey is in the bunk. Give them a P2X rating which is useless outside of the airline. Get them trapped in Dubai after a few years as they lock onto the seniority list and find it difficult to move.
Crewing problem solved and costs reduced, it worked for CX.