I also have had a flight cancelled. No formal notification but discovered by due diligence. My outbound and return are separate tx due to when award space opened up.

AE, when I called, offered a comparable flight two days later. AE refused to change return (i.e., make it two days later to maintain the length of the trip) despite most of cabin being available because it’s a separate tx and no award space showing. In fact, despite current load, only full J available on this transborder route. Flying on my original date now means a connection that would involve UA. My tx was AC non-stop.

Is there any strategy that might convince AE to move the return which is also AC non-stop?