I am amazed at these postings about this route's reliability. It is worse than ORD/SFO HKG, and neither of those are what I would call "reliable." I take those routes 4-5 times a year, and it is like playing the slots.
I would love to know how, for example, Cathay Pacific manages to run their HKG routes close to schedule year 'round, using 744s. The fact is, on any given day, Mr. Smisek has no clue which of the 744s will be cancelled on these long haul routes. But one thing he can be absolutely sure of: at least one of his 744s today will not be leaving on time, and probably very late. Sorry, I just don't understand this. I'd love to hear a 744 captain's defense of this kind of operating philosophy.