One of the biggest incentives for CX to get their sh#t in a pile wrt to bases is China Southern. If CX closed the bases there's now a viable alternative that is expanding rapidly, albeit in the Australasia area for now, and I think a substantial number would go.
And for that reason, i don't think they'll come out anytime soon with a definitive answer to the base question. They'll string us on telling us they're hoping to have it all fixed for as long as they can. And in a mass demonstration of confirmation bias the majority of us will actually believe them.
