Overall, the China-Hong Kong air routes are overcrowded and prone to delays. Frequency of flights would be my biggest predictor of reliability--as CA is actually NOT the largest operator and has only a few flights per day on this route, they are the most likely to leave you without options, whereas China Eastern, Cathay/Dragonair, each have something over 10 flights a day.
So, in summary, no, there's not much you could have done.