I'm inclined to agree with Daffie. Yes, there have been some recent stories in here which surprised me. Namely, 1.) A Cathay Diamond card member flying on Asia Miles (CX's own mileage currency) getting IDB / booted off EWR - literally, the guy/lady was booted out of the lounge pre-flight, and 2.) Another passenger IDB who was flying Cathay on AA points LAX-HKG.

#1 just sounded bizarre, and it sounds like Cathay apologized. No excuse here, but this was against Cathay's own Diamond member on Asia Miles - it makes zero sense. I feel quite certain saying there were AA mileage burners on board who didn't get bumped. The whole scenario just smells like an EWR staff screw up. The EWR staff - for lack of a better words - completely sucked in the two experiences I had with them, and I've seen other posters who fly a lot of CX share similar experiences. I haven't returned in 18 months as a result, although you can't beat EWR for convenience from the south like where you're coming from, and if I was in PHL or Maryland or whatever I'd still probably fly ex-EWR too. It just so happens the majority of my business is in NY, and as a result I have a "choice"....to which I choose JFK. But if I finished meetings in PHL, I'd still probably choose EWR instead of driving all the way over to JFK.

#2 sounds unfortunate, and I suspect it happens from time to time. But a few things to be aware of. 1.) LAX has more flexibility, and presumably they overbook heavier there too, because of 4x daily flights. The pax was accommodated on a flight later the same day and still made his connection in HKG, if I understand his story correctly. 2.) I strongly suspect a factor in this passengers' selection for IDB was because of his/her connection, and because the later flight would still accommodate the connection. So no biggie. And 3.) The passenger was flying the week after New Year. There are a few stretches each year when travel is just utterly horrendous. A few days during Chinese New Year, a few days before Christmas, and the first few days after Jan 1 fall into that category. It's always mayhem.

I'll also add that I bet 99%+ of partner awards on CX go off without a hitch. It's just the unfortunate circumstances you hear about here because FT is a useful public forum and extreme situations tend to be shared often.