I'd like to play devils advocate here:
It would be a far better business model if CX flew a 787-8 or incrementally larger aircraft direct from HKG to every market which could support several flights per week. Tap the high yield pax and cargo which pay a premium for the direct flights and leave EK (and like carriers) to connect low fare pax through the Gulf (or elsewhere) on their big A380s.
This is essentially what CX does right now with the A330 to all the major cities in Australia. Right? Now maybe the flights to Sydney and Melbourne need larger aircraft. I don't know, but clearly CX has chosen to simply increase frequency rather than fly larger equipment there.
I think this is a prototypical case of "Bigger isn't always better."