Originally Posted by coconutjay

Would changing the routing to

YYZ-LAX-AKL (stop) (UA8385 and NZ) *because the UA flight is operated by AC do I get hit with surcharges with this one?)
AKL-MEL (Destination) (NZ)
Return portion
MEL-SIN-NRT (stop) (SQ) or
MEL-SIN-HKG-NRT (Stop) (SQ, NH) I read that if the connecting flight SQ doesn't have surcharges, NH portion will not as well, is this true) or
MEL-BKK-NRT (Stop)-TG (save on surcharges and maximize the day as this is a night flight)

NRT-ORD-YYZ (UA)-been on this one several times and it is an old plane without personal tvs

I was under the impression that stop overs needed to be on route to your destination, is this not the case ? Adding the NRT stop while heading back to YYZ seems off route.

Also does it help to use published routes and will this help to bypass the MPM rules?