Originally Posted by
jpdx
... I suppose the lesson is that for most airlines, if your flight is showing a big delay with a chance of missing a connecting flight at your next airport, it's better to remain landside at HKIA and try to work out options. Once you're airside, you're SOL.
Not if you are flying Oneworld
I have had great success with airside changes with CX, QF and BA at HKG, painless and reliable. Someone earlier suggested that RJ was also good at this, so maybe it is a Oneworld feature. My own experience has been the opposite of yours at HKG, with CX being able to do the impossible (once they let me fly without a ticket, I purchased it while mid-air; but I flew a lot of CX F back then which probably made a difference).
The lesson I take from your experience is that Star/Skyteam are less well organized than Oneworld, at least at HKG. Also in general connecting via most cities in China is frought with peril at best of times, delays seem to be the norm rather than the exception.