<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by wannabe:
Don't think that just because under current circumstances you always get that upgrade or exit row that it would last if AA made the other seats in coach much less attractive to all the other AA elites.</font>
Bingo. In the dark days before MRTC, I used to make a concerted effort to snag an exit row seat. Now with MRTC, I find that the slight boost in legroom on aircraft like the MD-80 isn't worth the increase in noise and the longer line in getting off the plane due to the move aft. The 777, of course, is a different matter! But YMMV.
Anyway, as
wannabe suggests, if MRTC is rolled back fleetwide, expect fierce competition for the limited number of exit row seats. I think many underestimate the extent of the competition for such seats because right now, they are readily available (especially to elites). But I suspect this phenomenon is in large part due to the fact that a MRTC seat on AA's bread and butter -- the Super 80 -- is currently a viable alternative to an exit row seat. Not so, if MRTC is eliminated.