And this is the gist of the matter.

For decades CX was 2nd fiddle to SQ. CX worked very hard to improve, and early in the 21st century it was neck and neck with SQ. Until it actually overtook SQ and became the best F in the world (this was when the old F rollout completed, circa 2003). Then SARS hit, and CX never really recovered from that; it has been a downward spiral. The poor design choices in the premium cabin refits led to a tremendous waste of money and perhaps the soft product downgrades to economize. Hence this discussion. CX could have been so much better (for the same cost). But CX looks to be turning the corner, with both J and F improving in 2009.

I was very impressed with the systemic way that CX was improving 7 years ago. Every month there would be a small change that I noticed and considered a good improvement. Somehow this systemic improvement stopped over the years. I guess it wasn't quite systemic after all.