Have the same "problem" on CityJets flights.

We're two (who more or less always flying together) and both of us are E+. Every single time we're automatically assigned seats at the very front of the plane and with any if's and but's there is always some one sitting next to us even though there are plenty of seats available further down the plane We have now started to get one of the last three rows as these are the only 2 seaters next to each other...

Is the blocked seat only for Plat holders or is there a trick around the problem?

We have tried to change seats so the middle seat is open when checking in online but this has never worked either