Originally Posted by
Mr_Ed
After years of being screwed by Emirates and Etihad for the simple fact we live in Dubai, there are many of us who are tired of the 'tax' we pay when we want to travel. Yes I know supply and demand and all that but when I see CAI-CPT in J for aed5800 vs aed17000 for DXB-CPT in EK it's no wonder that many of us try to play the system. By the way the former gives 17500 tier miles vs 7500 for the latter to add insult to injury.
Obviously the discrepancies aren't so great for Y fares. Essentially Emirates has been subsidized by businesses in Dubai for years and now that oil prices have crashed and everyone is in trouble, the airline is having to slowly accept that premium demand ex UAE is going to fall. If they want to stem this kind of 'cheating' or everyone moving to QR, the first thing they should do is take a long hard look at their premium pricing in my view.
It's the same for us in the UK. Looking at pricing flights for a trip to Indonesia later this year on our 'Flag Carrier', departing GLA-SUB £3822 in J. Change the departure point to AMS and it comes out at £1809. Okay, you've got positioning flights to pay for but well worth it for a £2000 difference. Can save a further £300 by departing ex AMS on CX.
EK from GLA-CGK £2327, AMS-CGK £1923. It's the airline game unfortunately. Home carriers from home hubs usually don't work out as the cheapest options (or the UK).
S