Actually I'm looking only for a one way AKL-YUL, possibly through BNE (as AC flies their 787 on that route). I did not think of AKL-YVR. Might be interesting. The thing is I don't see NZ flights early. I believe they show up late (90 days out?). So I'll probably book with AC (through BNE or SYD) they moment they appear and evaluate if it's worth canceling if something better comes later.

And I did consider connecting through China (Shanghai being the new direct route to YUL), but that comes with a looong connection.

I'm doing a cruise SYD to AKL, so I'll need only a one way ticket in the reverse direction. Thanks for all the leads on those flights, which are my Plan B is NZ reward flight is not available for my dates. I looked more thoroughly and I do see it quite often about 2-3 months out.