EK stripped out lounge access and the limo for about 9 months on the deeply discounted C fares offered by Emirates Tours as part of their holiday packages.

It was an unmitigated disaster by all accounts. I got a phone call from ET asking if I was thinking about booking a holiday with them that year and my answer was no. Whilst I could live without the limo, I really didn't fancy 3-6 hours in Dubai without lounge access. The chap I spoke to said that virtually everyone else he had spoken to had said much the same. I received a phone call from a Manager at ET a few months later who explained that they had tried a 'new idea' to lower costs (negligible if at all), but they were going back to 'full service'.