Yes, QR and EY use A320 shorthaul configured planes, but there's no need to go to a stretch A321neoLR for a lot of those routes the same way you need to for a US-EU TATL route. Most of what EY/QR do with those A320s is India or North Africa/near Middle East, well within range of an A320.

The market for long, thin routes (or the hot and high things a 757 does well because of all that excess engine) isn't great. If it was Boeing wouldn't have shut down the 757 line. That's why I think anything that shows up will be a stretch/re-engine/optimization of an existing plane, rather than a brand new line with commensurate very high engineering cost and break-even point for selling. Witness how the 748 has gone; lovely plane, LH is already talking about dumping them. The A380 would be a white elephant were it not for the European carriers and EK propping it up. Planes are not a "build it and they will come" proposition.