I appreciate all the advice, although I don't think Chovaz' interpretation of Section 35 is correct or, if correct, is enforced.
On my outbound, ticketed in J (D) YYZ-DEN-LAX, the check-in agent at YYZ responded to my request to be put on the YYZ-LAX nonstop by saying "Yes we will do that for you since it is wide open and your YYZ-DEN flight is way overbooked." I didn't argue with her reasoning as I was getting what I wanted. (BTW it was Aug 10, an interesting day to fly as overnight the new restrictions came in re liquids, etc - in fact I made it through security in YYZ and in LAX (I went on to LAS on UA) with various liquids and gels without question.
Today on the inbound, ticketed LAX-YUL-YYZ, the check-in agent at LAX spoke to her supervisor and put me on standby - and eventually the gate agent gave me a Y boarding pass. On pointing out her error, she immediately gave me a J seat - from her screen I could see that there were 6-8 open at that point, and in fact we left with 3-4 unfilled.
Whatever the "rules" I found that once again a low-key request for a favour, accompanied with a smile, seems to work best.
Originally Posted by chovaz
Section 35 of the Air Rewards Terms and Conditions....
35. Same-day standby is permitted for earlier flights within North America-free of charge-for passengers holding a confirmed Aeroplan seat on Air Canada and/or Air Canada Jazz only. Departure and arrival cities must be the same as the confirmed flight. Same-day standby must be requested at the departure city, once the member has checked in for a confirmed flight. Additional restrictions may apply
Basically they're saying if you are LAX-YUL-YYZ then for your LAX-YUL you can standy for an earlier flight from LAX-YUL and in YUL you can standy for an earlier flight from YUL-YYZ. That's how I would interpret it anyway.
Section 32 says...
32. For only $55 Canadian per ticket (plus applicable taxes), you can:
a) Change your flight date or flight number at any time
b) Change your flight date or flight number and your itinerary
you would be changing your itinerary I would think changing from LAX-YUL-YYZ to LAX-YYZ?