Suspect that if A340 DE Commanders are required, EK may indeed have to pay the going rate....which just might be a little lower than anticipated by some, provided they are obtained from UL...or perhaps ex-SQ.
Always amused by a few European guys who expect to travel to the desert and inform the companies based there how to run the show. In many cases, they set a consistantly abysmal standard, which they generally fail to achieve.