Standby / Same Day Changes - Rules for Award Tickets
 

For I or X class awards (either Aeroplan or other *A carrier), what fare class rules does Air Canada follow for same day changes at airport or standby?
Does this answer change for "market fares"? It's impossible to tell what fare class it books into since AC moved to branded fares. "S" fare basis could be Flex or Standard for Y, for example.

I can't speak for Market Fare, but:

X and I can be SDC'd for the standard $75
I has free standby
X standby is free on routes like Rapidair

Positive space means the number of booked seats is less than the capacity.

Fare class is irrelevant.

But J2 isn't sufficient. The entire flight needs positive space.

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​​​​​​Can confirm this evening that X same day standby works for W. Triangle (processed YVR-YEG at priority desk landside)

I did an 'I' standby the other day for 3 PAX for YYZ-YWO... the SDC for I would have been $75 per person.....so we went for the free standby and all got a Business seat, despite being at the bottom of the onload list.

Yeah, it seems like some form of confirmed-J standby is now being processed before upgrades. I don't know if that includes R class.

But the order on the public list does not match the order it's processed in, of course.

Arranged a SDC, 10 hours before flight time which I thought was safer than taking a chance on a standby, costs $75. I don't think there was "I" space - just space in J was all that was needed. Or perhaps the concierges just made it work.

You don't need any fare class for SDC. Just positive space.

With same day change:

1- Can I change routing (YEG-YYC-SFO to YEG-YVR-SFO) ?
2- Can I change date with an overnight connection (YEG-YVR day 1, YVR-SFO day 2 --> YEG-YVR-SFO all on day 1)?

1. Yes, as long as the new routing is sane
2. Probably not

"Same routing" as in same O&D?
Or same connection point?

"Sane", not "same".

Like you couldn't do YEG-YYZ-SFO. But YYC/YVR/nonstop are all fine.

Sorry to dig up this thread but I figured I'd ask here since my question is similar.

I have a YVR-SFO UA award in J, for the last flight of the day. Is it possible to standby for an earlier flight on OLCI? Or would I have to go to the YVR to be put on the standby list/pay for SDC?

OLCI may offer it, or it may not.

I have a Biz (I) award YYZ-MUC-DEL with first segment on AC and second on LH. Would I be able to change to the AC YYZ-DEL nonstop, by paying the $75 fee at the airport? Both flights leave within a couple of hours of each other...

I'd be astonished if that works, but definitely try it and let us know... If you end up actually able to fly on the non-stop, make sure you submit your tickets to the AC refund site for a cash refund of excess taxes collected.

I agree with everything before the comma, though I'm uncertain about everything after.

The terms of the SDC say "No additional charges for fare difference apply for changes made on the day of travel when flights are operated by Air Canada."

I'm not sure I'd recommend wasting an agent's time with something that is clearly against the rules (getting this changed for $75).

It'd theoretically be to AC's advantage to transport on the non-stop if there was space available, and cancel the AP redemption on the LH segment.

If there was any uncertainty as to the timely operation of the outbound, there'd be zero question (but that's covered under IROPS policy)

With the Covid-19 and 737Max situations, agents may very well be doing so many changes and tweaks these days that something that's not strictly compliant with the rules, but not dis-beneficial to AC may very well fly.