Thank you Shutterbug, you summed it up concisely and perfectly. You are dead on about the trainers. Choosing to be a trainer is actually choosing a dead end on the career path. The training department is seen as an cost item. I don't know if the HKCAD will allow it ... if allow, maybe in the future CX will outsource the cabin service altogether.
5 years ago, I took CX for the first time and was quite impressed by its cabin service. Comparing today to 5 years ago, I can see a marked difference (in a negative way). Maybe if I had the chance to take CX in the 80s/90s, I would have been abhorred by the service 5 years ago.
Point is that service levels are going down - fast, while others in the region are rapidly rising. Sooner or later, the customers will vote with the wallets. If I know there is a very little chance of getting business class with CX, I will spend a little extra and use my ID90 travel on a competitor, on the same route.