I booked the following last night:
India Award.
MLE (POT) -BLR-DEL (stop)
DEL-IST-YUL-YVR.
Validated no problem with the agent via a check of the route before actually providing the exact flight numbers.
Could it be that AE is eliminating "via Europe" bookings for Asia 1/2?
I had no discussion surrounding changes as I wanted to get my ticket and run. (Laughing)