Originally Posted by eternaltransit

Where can you find that 1500 USD J fare - I can only find a 1500 GBP one

Also, I don't think you can look at fares on any given route pair in isolation, especially given two relatively well-trafficked airports: the promotional fare that EK is offering is in line with a recent AY, EY and QR fare, and is attempting to undercut the fact that OS is offering a direct fare for similar price (+/- 200 USD).

Airline fares are hardly ever indicative of what a carrier thinks of its own product - they are an attempt to extract maximum cash from the market taking into account the product offering (product/schedule) and the perception of the product in the target market. A carrier's perception of its own product is usually irrelevant in the airline market - just look at the expensive LCC fares or the EU short-haul J market, or the wildly different pricing for the same seat on the same aircraft just changing the origin and destination points.