Depends a bit on when Chinese New Year exactly is. After tends to be cheaper.
I've flown with them (AMS - HKG - HAN and vv.) and I would fly with them again without any problems. The transfer in HKG involved security and passport check.
Most noteworthy was that while I was loading the luggage into the automated luggage handling system at Schiphol (after self check in at home) a lady wearing the uniform of Cathay Pacific requested to see the passports. I handed her the four Dutch passports we were travelling on. She was a bit surprised that only one passport had a visum for Viet Nam and asked how we thought to enter our final destination without visa. After I handed her three Vietnamese passports, she understood completely and wished us a pleasant flight.