Originally Posted by
pitz
No, that's not a good assumption to make.
Depends on what kind of J ticket you have. If its full-J, getting new flights shouldn't be a problem with the fare you paid. If it was discount-J, then all bets are off. When AC books a ticket for you on another carrier, they're doing so in agency, not as the principal, so its not AC's responsibility to get you a replacement flight at the fare originally paid. Especially if the fare on the failed carrier was deeply discounted and would not cover an available (at the time) fare on another carrier.
Best way of handling it -- call AC, but be prepared to open the wallet if it was a cheap fare because there might not be discount-J inventory available with other carriers. If such a scenario unfolds, you might want to be cognizant of the fare offerings on non-Star Alliance carriers as its probably unlikely that AC will attempt to sell you a (potentially cheaper) replacement ticket on EK, BA, (CX??), DL, etc.
edit: usually carriers that compete with a failed/struck carrier will publish a memorandum waiving the normal advanced purchase restrictions for those who exchange tickets on failed carriers for travel on their services. The problem, however, is inventory is often elusive for obvious reasons. So being stuck with an involuntary up-fare can be a very real problem.
Please do not post inaccurate information like this.
AC's obligations in the event of a schedule irregularity such as a flight cancellation are spelled out under the tariff. The tariff doesn't say that AC will only re-book in the original fare class or any of that nonsense. It says (paraphrasing) that the customer is entitled to be transported in the class of service they've paid for, or a refund if AC can't find a satisfactory way to re-route the passenger. Nor is it correct to say that AC is an agent of another carrier. OP purchased a fare published by AC on an AC ticket. AC was acting as principal in this transaction, relying on a sub-contractor to fulfill a portion of their obligation, but AC doesn't get to just wash its hands of all this or blame a lack of P space for not finding an alternative.
AC is generally quite good at re-routing on OAL metal in the event of IRROPs and, as has been pointed out above, AC will even sell BA metal on through fares on a regular basis, in addition to SA and LH. And fare class never been an issue for me. I've had P fares re-booked in to another airline in C, for instance. And I was able to get an itinerary re-booked on DL a few months ago when the MAX fiasco first started to cause mayhem.
That being said, AC's obligations and goodwill are not limitless (e.g. if there are no seats available anywhere, there are no seats). AC will look to re-book first on AC metal (not really applicable here), then Star Alliance partners, then other interline partners, and at that point, they will probably give up. So, @
TheCanuckian, you should expect AC to be most amenable to re-booking on LH or ET, even if, say, BA or KL is more convenient for you. But that doesn't mean that BA or KL (or AF, or EK, or another
interline partner) isn't an option.
To answer your original question, OP, AC likely isn't going to do anything until your dates are affected. You could try phoning in and seeing if a reservations agent can tell you what they're doing for any customers who are already being affected, but it's uncertain exactly how much they'll be able to tell you. I wouldn't bother with concierge yet because their primary purpose is day-of-travel assistance, and you're still a few days out. MSPeconomist has provided the best advice, really, which is to start looking at options - use Google Flights, maybe do a free trial of ExpertFlyer if things are looking a little thin - and just have them ready for when something is announced impacting your dates.
But ignore the comments above about having your wallet ready and your discounted fare class. If LH has space in a D fare, for instance, you should not hesitate to ask AC to put you on that flight, nor should you expect to pay them anything for it, and I expect they would likely do it for you. The only context in which you should be prepared to pay is if you find a nice option on another airline for a reasonable price, and you choose to ask AC to give you a full refund rather than accept their re-booking, and then go buy your new ticket elsewhere. I expect that, this close in, that's unlikely to be a palatable option, but I don't know whether any of the ME3 might have last-minute deals or whatever.