AKL in February/March?

I'm contemplating a trip to Aukland NZ, as 'parent-of' standby, which usually puts me at the end of the list. With my limited options, my jumping-off point will probably be LAX (I'll fly out of BOS, but getting from there to LAX should be manageable). There are a few connections through Sydney, and another through Fiji. The Fiji one looks like the best option WRT $$ and schedule, but if I can't get on the second leg, there aren't very many options from there - SYD would be better. Qs:

Is late Feb.. early Mar a reasonable time to try to do this?

Airline options are AA connecting with Emirates, LAN, or China Air, in SYD, versus Fiji air all the way through NAN. I'm thinking swapping airlines in SYD might be potential risk, possibly offset by more possibilities.

Thoughts, comments suggestions?

-lr