Is this likely to happen before June (or by "later in 2015" did you mean in the latter half of next year)? If the lounge needs to close temporarily, where will pax be directed?

When I first read that, I thought you were going to say that they had installed hand rails and hand straps so people could stand for the whole flight. 29" seat pitch would be a luxury then!! :D

Be very careful of your choice of words there! :o

The 777 to AUH may act as 'overspill', potentially reducing the need for more capacity.

You are quite right although in the mid 1990s the Gulf network looked like this

- LHR-BAH-AUH (daily, 767)
- LHR-DXB-MCT (daily, 767)

Then from about 1997 Dubai became a terminating service, Doha was swapped for MCT on the BAH run and MCT moved to AUH, with everything switching to a 777. Then early 2000s Dubai got a second and then a seasonal third daily. So the route and overall market has grown somewhat despite the rise of the ME3.

Shame no 747-400 to BAH any more, that was fun.

I don't think a 767 with cradles ever darkened Bahrain's door, it was all 777 by then.

Nobody wants to see 'enhanced' ;)

iii) no VAT and better prices than shops at comparable destinations i.e. HKG (and no crowded MRT due to the cheaper taxi prices.) Also much less jetlag.

That's not my experience in Dubai. Prices in the shops are roughly the same as the UK. Given that you can't take things back if they go wrong (unless you frequently go to Dubai) then it's not worth doing.
The Dubai metro is frequently packed, especially in the morning and evening rushes. At the same time taxis are very difficult to hail, depending on where you are. Both are very cheap though, but then again, they are in Hong Kong too.

Hong Kong is also a place where you can spend hours on end wandering about. If you get bored of the city you can go into the hills. In Dubai, you can go to the next shopping mall which looks exactly the same as the last and has exactly the same shops you get in the UK. If you get fed up with the city there are vast expanses of sand for you to explore. It's also difficult to happen across local eateries in Dubai.

As for jetlag, I get it worse in Dubai. It's a relatively short flight so if you take an overnighter you don't get a full night's sleep. Day flights aren't so bad though but they do mean spending an extra night away from home so I avoid them.

I've started using QR to get to DXB. First time I did it, W on BA cost more than F on QR. It's a longer flight via DOH but you get a chance to get a shower, then a decent breakfast on the hop to DXB. 270 TP vs 90 on BA each way in this case too. Fares do fluctuate a lot though, obviously.

You say :

But earlier you say :

It would suggest there is not demand if they are merging two loads onto 1 flight

Agreed. I don't think colleagues go to Dubai for the shopping. Even people that go there regularly on holiday often complain about how expensive the place has become. It's a fly and flop destination with small time change and a huge array of family friendly resort hotels that offer special rates to the travel industry.

I *think* that it will be a new lounge in Concourse D (due to open 2015). All the non-EK airlines currently in Concourse C will move to Concourse D, and A/B/C will be exclusive for EK (plus QF).

From what I hear, the A380 is limited in hold capacity, Emirates are turning away cargo from their A380 flights and BA are benefitting with both higher freight rates and higher volumes. This makes the route very profitable with existing equipment and may be another reason for BA to choose not to use A380 on this route.

EK are launching a 3rd flight to BHX this year, in addition to 3 MAN, 2 GLA, 1 NCL, 3 LGW and 5 LHR, about 4000 seats a day, plus 2 a380s on QF. BA just doesn't register.

We need to remember there are a couple options to increase capacity from a 777-200, it could go to a 777-300 or 747 for an increase rather than the massive increase the A380 gives