Thanks for the advice. I sort of assumed folks would say "go for CX" -- but that assumption was based on a past reputation that may not reflect the current reality.
Of course, there are other options, aside from CX and UA, but it is much more efficient to take a nonstop flight and I believe the only nonstop options from NYC to HKG are UA or CX.
My return flight will be HKG-WAS, where I believe there is no nonstop flight. So that may open up some other options as well...