Possible change in crewing to 2 S/O's ??
Over the last year the S/O upgrades have slowed down, with the effect that proportionally we now have more S/O's and fewer F/O's (obviously fewer RPIC!). Some other airlines operate their ULH with One Captain, one F/O and 2 S/O's.
Could CX be gearing slowly towards this ? It would be the perfect cost saving measure on all ULH flights.
This fits in very well with overcoming the cost of additional training requirements for S/O's. It has the added advantage that operating frontseat crews remain more current as they get more sectors. And it alleviates the current lack of training sectors on the -400 for conversions, and is a simple way for the airline to expand quickly with the current shortage of crew.