Guardian Angel, time difference New York/Hong Kong is twelve hours, correct.
New York Tokyo is 13 hours. There are no direct flights Hong Kong Barcelona but many possibilities with one stop from Middle East, Istanbul, Europe and UK. I was passengering Sydney Hong Kong on 9/11 and did not know about the Twin Towers disaster until I watched the evening news on TV in Hong Kong. No in flight announcements, Hong Kong airport operations normal, no cancelled flights. Hope this is of help to you. Cheers, HD.