first time non-rev travel

hey guys,
i am planning on going to hongkong using a zed ticket. this will be my first time using this. i would like to ask some advice on how to deal with different situations(being stranded and those bad situations). i already picked an airline its cathay pacific they have 3 flights coming out of lax and 3 flights going back, is this a good number of flights? will there be a good chance that i could be seated in this airline. im planning on leaving this may is that a good month for me to go there if not what's the best month to fly.

thanks in advanced
jhae http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif