[QUOTE=sadiqhassan]Do you have a source for this? All official sources that I have read, explicitly state that EK received no government favours. This is different from other benefits that it receives (such as low oil prices - but this is because oil is cheap in Dubai, not because EK is getting the easy way out.) I do not have connection with the top management at EK (sadly ) but I do know some people that work for them, and I have been reassured many times that nothing happens that it off the books. If this did happen, other countries would probably close their doors to EK, and they would have nowhere to fly to.



I think your post here sums it up. If they did receive government assistance and made it public they would be cut out of several destinations. I personally don’t have a major problem with EK getting assistance from the Royal Family. It is keeping fares low and offering an alternative for consumers. As long as it does not lead to a monopoly in the distant future.

As for my source I do not have anything "official" (of course ). But I did watch an interview with the now late Royal family member who was on the board of both A1 and EK (The interview was in Australia shortly before he passed away in Brisbane and was flown back to Dubai ). Saying that for him the two most important things for the future or Dubai "the jewel in the UAE crown" was EK and A1 and how the board (the royal family) will be doing all it can to grow and make EK the best airline in the world (We will help them any way we can without being to obvious about it). Yes they get cheap fuel as it in cheaper in the UAE than other parts of the world but do you think if I established an airline based in Dubai I would get all the same benefits the EK get ....I doubt it