Davistev:

Are u flying to Toronto? As I know the exit rows in CX are hard to get, unless you know ppl working in CX reservation or at the check-in counter. However, there are still chances.

I am not sure which economy fare you are paying, but if you are paying B, Y or H, consider putting the miles in the AAdvantage account, as I find out that they have a very attractive award which is the upgrade award from N. America zone to HK and Asia for only 25,000 miles. It takes only 1.5 round trip to Toronto to get that 25k miles for upgrade the next time.

Even though I am not as tall as you are, I also fell cramped sitting in the coach class in CX