Dirhams & Dollars

Dubai: On this week’s episode of business podcast Dirhams & Dollars, the team discuss Monday’s announcement that Emirates and flydubai will enter in to an extensive partnership. The statement fell short of announcing a merger or acquisition, but instead highlighted the value that can be extracted by a closer relationship. This, of course, set off tense arguments in the studio, with the team debating what actual benefits, if any, customers would see from the partnership, the environment that prompted such a move, and whether a merger would eventually follow suit. Emirates has taken a drastically different path to the other Gulf super-carriers like Etihad and Qatar Airways. Will it pay off?