Now let me answer my own question as the thread starter.
Sunday night I tried CX 883 (2350 dep), off loaded with few other SBY pax. But managed to get on CX 881 (0150 dep). I did not see any empty seats on the plane. Flight time was 14.50, 15 mts more than block time and with bad weather in HKG, it was a wonder that I managed to get on. Nevertheless it was a good feeling to get a seat as I was not looking forward to spending the night at LAX.
Thanks a lot for all your inputs.