PAL seems like the best option by far!

A few weeks ago, we managed to book flights with PAL in December for about £750. This is a fantastic price, since we're flying on the peak weekends. With two young children, the direct flights will be perfect. They'll just watch movies and fall asleep (hopefully)!

So, in answer to the original question, I would pay a bit more for a direct flight. But PAL seems like great value anyway! The same dates that we booked would have been £1300 with Cathay.