Hi, I'm very new to the forum. I'm not even sure if this is the right section to post...but I have a question that has been bugging me for a few years (yep, YEARS) now.

I live in Toronto and for the past few years, I've had to travel to Hong Kong. From YYZ to HKG, the flight would normally take me over the North Pole (which makes sense). However, on all the return flights HKG to YYZ, the pilot would always fly over the Pacific Ocean the old-fashioned way (over Japan, crossing the International Date Line, over Alaska, and eastbound over continental Canada into Toronto).

Does anyone know why this is the case? I've NEVER flown back from HKG to YYZ over the North Pole the same way I did when I came in. The pilots always prefer the Pacific route going back (which is usually rough and very turbulent, much to my dismay).