To share a recent experience, booking a DGLOB34 (as I wanted to go to Fiji with FJ rather than QF, and due to the 34k mileage limit on the ticket had to be creative compared to a DONE4) from Japan, with the first flight on Cathay, two interesting observations:
1. I was unable to book a last leg from HNL to HND with JAL, the system kept throwing a wait list error even after trying a few days/combinations including finishing in another city. But was fine to book HNL-NRT on the same day I wanted (note that JAL is booking D class a lot on this route, there are days at a time, Friday/Saturday/Sunday) with 0 availability across both HNL and NRT some 11 months out. Wasn't a big deal, I was willing to take the longer NRT commute to avoid having to read out 12 flights
2. I then had to call, rather than being able to pay online. CX picked up nearly instantly but clearly in the backend there was something complex as it took 20+ minutes (almost all with hold music) to get towards the payment, then another hour before the payment link was sent, but then instantly ticketed