As the 747-8s arrive the BCFs will go. The BCFs were only ever an interim measure and an engineering exercise to help CX sell its ex Pax aircraft when the time comes. Most of the pax aircraft will be converted into freighters and sold on to freight operators with whom we currently compete.
AHK will eventually operate those BCFs on their own AOC. CX is retaining control in the short term in case there are further delays to the -8. For the same reason the departure of BCFs to Air China was delayed longer than planned.
The BCF is less than ideal for the CX operation. It is heavier than a dedicated freighter by about 4 tonnes, it is nearly 7 tonnes light in its landing weight and the ZFW is short by 12 tonnes. It cannot do a cost effective job on CX routes. In 12 months most of them will be gone. If AHK wants to compete with CX on CX routes it will not be able to do so using BCFs. CX operated certain routes on behalf of DHL, but these were never CX freighter routes.
There is nothing to stop AHK, under the terms of its own AOC, buying -8s for itself. What are we to do then? Go head to head with CX management because a rival is expanding?
There is a case to be made for not training another operators crews on CX aircraft. But trying to stop AHK expanding in the long term is a non-starter.