Well done to them. Cathay has invested in its brand and has a number of things still going for it: excellent entertainment, generally pretty hostesses and an excellent safety record among them, in my book.
That said, I now actively choose Turkish over Cathay for a lot of trips where I have a choice (better value, comfier economy seats and better food) and I put JAL above them too. That goes to the heart of why Skytrax's methodology is so flawed: different passengers (and the same passengers for different trips) value different factors very differently even within one cabin class, from ticket price to total journey duration, IRROPS handling to loyalty benefits. So Skytrax is a good marketing tool but doesn't help flyers make a useful decision.