EK is dumping seats in the transTasmin market to fill up its planes and cover costs of flying across. This is a usual practice of such rump segments that all airlines do in various markets. Also, EK can fly cheaper because it does not have tradional capital cost structures other private sector airlines have to contend with -- shareholder return, debt retirement at market interest rates, etc. -- and half its fuel bill can be calculated a sub-world prices.

But more to the point, this same critique is made against BA's flights ex-UK, AF's ex-France, LH's ex-Germany, AC's ex-Canada... you get the idea. All "home" carriers tend to be higher priced on their longhaul non-stop flights than those competitors who fly you via their hub. There are many factors at play, but the whole strategy is to feed you from your home city through their hub and onward to your final destination. It's been an industry model since KLM started it post-WWII. And it was adopted by CX and SQ very successfully. You will note, all three carriers operate a major hub through which 90% or more of their passengers transit onto another of their flights. Very few local originating customers in any of these countries. And that is now the model the middle east carriers have decided might work so they can enter the "big leagues".