Have you ever wondered if CX truly plans to expand at all? We replace 747s with smaller 777s and even smaller A350s while many of our competitors fly A380s and even a 747-8. The gates at the new HK terminal? I've never seen a single CX tail there, only those of growing competitors. Does CX even want to connect more pax through the HK hub? I wonder if they aren't willing to cede most of that traffic to the ME3, Singapore, and Tapei. Mainland connections only really make sense from the south. NAM connections only make sense for SE Asia and points west. The smaller 787s make connections through a big hub unnecessary for some medium sized cities which previously didn't have nonstop long haul services.
With all the ATC delays in HK, who really wants the fuss of a CX connecting flight? Perhaps CX sees itself as a niche player for the O&D (origin and destination) traffic to and from HK. That's where the yield is greatest. Connecting traffic has lots of competition from other hubs / carriers which reduces fares. The "safety premium" CX used to command because it brought in highly experienced, Western pilots is evaporating as we hire almost exclusively low time pilots with shoddy, if any, prior experience. I know I wouldn't want to train them. Frankly, I'm surprised so many are willing, with or without a training ban.
Air cargo probably has its best days behind it as ships become faster, more efficient, and with better environmental controls. CX does not have ground infrastructure like FedEx, UPS, and DHL. So we find ourselves competing with the lowest cost trash haulers from every God-foresaken corner of the globe. The only advantage we have in cargo is that we can put freight on a pax aircraft and get it where it needs to go quickly and reliably. But if a customer wants that with ground service, they put it on one of the big 3 above.
So what do we really have going for us? We aren't willing to compete with the bigger, faster growing international carriers. Our hub really doesn't work with poor ATC and limited Mainland airspace. Cargo is basically low yield for us because we haven't differentiated our product. LCCs are chipping away at our regional flights. Our service has taken a turn for the worse as employee morale is in the sh!tter. Where is the bright future? Is hoping for better an exercise in futility?
PS - The above is not an excuse for rampant cost cuts. Actually, just the opposite.