My final two-hour leg to Lijiang would also be aboard Shenzhen, but in coach.

In the end, I settled on an itinerary that would have me flying nonstop from Montreal to Shanghai (PVG) aboard Air Canada's 787-8, having a few hours to kill, and flying to Shenzhen (SZX) aboard Shenzhen Airlines with an overnight in the city. Finally, I could fly to Europe on either Air Canada, Lufthansa or SWISS, then on Air China, but that seemed too far out of my way.

I could have also flown on Air China's 777 or 747-8 to Beijing from Montreal or via New York, but was not super interested in doing so since its business-class seats feel outdated at this point. I could fly from Montreal to Chicago (ORD), Newark (EWR) or Washington Dulles (IAD) on regional jets, then on to Beijing aboard 777-200s with United's old business class seats and new Polaris amenities, but then I'd have to continue on Air China. To my surprise, I found a lot of possibilities right off the bat - they all involved an overnight layover in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen, but that didn't bother me. Because Air Canada, Air China and Shenzhen Airlines are all part of the Star Alliance, I started looking for award possibilities by searching on. I needed to get from Montreal (YUL) to a little airport in Mainland China called Lijiang (LJG). Due to some overlapping travel plans, however, I needed to find a way to travel from Montreal to China, and Air Canada ended up being the right choice for me, along with some connecting flights on its Star Alliance partner, Shenzhen Airlines. When it comes to actually flying, I usually look at other options for getting to Europe, Asia or the South Pacific. Since Air Canada eventually plans to start its own independent mileage program and end its partnership with Aeroplan in 2020, now is a good time to try to maximize it for Air Canada or Star Alliance awards - while you still can. That's not to say I don't look for awards through its Aeroplan mileage program, which can sometimes present great value despite the sometimes high carrier-imposed fees, change fees and the occasional (but major) devaluation - it's a great way to search for Star Alliance award availability, for instance. I tend to fly directly to or from the US on international trips, so I often overlook Air Canada as a possibility when searching for my ticket. Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.

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