Originally Posted by
drvannostren
Except the only reason this would happen (correct me if I'm wrong) would be if the OP purchased it that way. In which case you can bet they'd charge you a bunch more as well, because they'd charge per segment and not for the trip.
There is no reason to assume that it would cost more
Looking at the routing rules for CX's HKG-JFK fares they permit both
1. HKG-NYC
2. HKG-YVR-CX-NYC