I tend to agree about the theories about the future of the 380, which will affect what happens to these guys going across to the RHS.
Rumour has it that the majority of the 380 routes are losing hundreds of millions of dirhams a month (overall). If that's the case, clearly CM's first job will be to deal with that.
It gives EK a chance to bail out of future 380 deliveries and save face. They'll negotiate a deal with Airbus, who will be happy to shut down the production line and transfer orders across to the 350.
The whole thing will delay further deliveries to EK, which is exactly what they need right now....a huge drop in passenger numbers and not enough pilots..the perfect solution for a complete halt in expansion while blaming everyone else.
Interesting times ahead.