I am planing a trip from Istanbul to Melbourne from mid February to mid June. Etihad and Qatar Airways offer pretty much the same price, but i prefer EY for a couple of reasons.

Now, i checked the seat maps for the long-haul portion of the trip and it seems EY flights have only a few seats left in the middle, while window seat is kinda important to me. I understand if the flights for mid February are mostly booked and the nice seats are taken, but it shows the same availability on the return flight in 6 months, i.e. only few random seats available in the middle.

So maybe EY does not release the window seats for selection at time of booking, can someone confirm this? And if this is the case how can i get a window seat except hoping that the checkin agent at the airport will have mercy on me?