Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: United Arab Emirates & Arizona, USA
Programs: UA MM/1P, EK Ag, Marriott Life Ti, Hilton Dia, IC Dia, Hyatt Glob, Accor Pt
Posts: 4,723
Great find. It could be a glitch -- perhaps a CMB-MLE where they forgot to add the routing rules (i.e., non-stop only)? You can use all the money that you save on the flight for accommodation in the Maldives.
P.S. Also the one op-up that I have gotten on EK from Y to C was on MLE-DXB; maybe not a lot of premium traffic on the route?