Originally Posted by
Gringuito
The other difference is that now you require a full fare ticket vs only a flex ticket previously. I did use that once at Christmas and was very helpful at that time
Sounds like this "enhancement" might possibly benefit Emirates', then. It can offload a passenger on a discounted economy ticket having sold his or her seat at top dollar to a Gold member.
I'd be interested to know how Emirates' chooses who to offload. If it requests volunteers in return for compensation (and, perhaps, accommodation) it could be win-win-win (the airline/upgraded pax/offloaded pax). On the other hand, if some poor soul is simply denied boarding, I would regard taking his or her seat as morally dubious and doing so would make me feel very uncomfortable indeed.