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.
Well said.
It is one thing to have a 30-40% surcharge for departing from your hometown.
It is another thing to be expected to pay 3-4 times just because you are a "resident".
Same goes for hotels; the amount UAE residents pay for a room (excluding F&B) at a beach hotel over the weekend is sometimes more than what a tourist pays for a
full-board package
and flights