Nobody is denying the cost advantage of a big one vs. a smaller one in terms of slots, overflight charges, crewing, turn-around cost, if you sum it up vs. passengers and revenue.
Another cost factor is the price of the airframe and the after sales conditions. Emirates made an enormous deal with Airbus when they negotiated price as launching customer. As they took even more airframes off the Toulouse tarmac, ones others deferred taking, they additionally got some numbers with payments deferred for many months! Airbus was grateful, the 380 production could eventually be started and they didn't mind too much about the killer-discount any normal company would never be able to sustain - they passed it on - thank you very much dear European taxpayer!
Emirates are no fools, neither are the HK Chinese. Both have profitable airlines. The difference is that EK came early and audaciously ordered a huge number of mammouths and received an enourmous discount. This allows them to operate it for many years in the profit zone. Any other company having to pay closer to the sticker price therefore calculates more to the effective operating costs and might go for the more economic solution, like CX with the T7.
Considering this, we understand that EK is happy with the A380. It's a fine product. I simply guess that when the effect of the discount starts fading out the joy will fade with it. Any future crisis, and there will be one, will see the mammouth reduced as the very first. Hopefully this takes time!
In the mean time just accept that even if the A380 seems profitable, at least for EK, it is plain and simply NOT more fuel efficient as the industry leader T7. That's all I am pretending.