Also, reserve seating for AA elites; that's about all AA has going for it over other transpacific carriers in OW. Fortunately, I was able to reserve an exit row seat on my raggedy AA flight, which was raggedy even by AA's usual standards. (I'm in Shanghai now; can anyone recommend a good OTC sleeping pill for the return journey?) Based on the passenger load of my flight, I suspect AA is trying to target the expat Chinese budget traveller these days in lieu of the expense-account crowd.