Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
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I did receive an e-mail as recently as October 22nd, for travel on the 23rd, but it's unclear to me exactly what triggers the e-mail. I've been on close to 70 flights since they initiated this policy, and I think I've only ever received it once for a mainline flight. On many of those, loads were light, but a few days ago, I was on a mainline flight that was 90% full and no e-mail was received.
I have more consistently received these e-mails on Jazz-operated flights, but even then, I think I've been on a couple that were fairly full and yet no e-mail.
They've also done a couple of last-minute downgauges (~24 hours out, 788 -> 321, 320 ->319, DH4 -> DH3) that resulted in much fuller flights and did not result in an e-mail.
If you're really interested in trying to change your flight, the advice to call in is probably best.