Good decision, IMO. Row 17 does not offer the old business seats either, though it does offer a modified coach seat with leg rest in a private area with more leg room. Those are available on routes under 8 hours long, most likely not applicable DFW-MAD, though sometimes cabin crew can give one a little attitude for grabbing them at the airport (one time I did and they never got a chance - I was exhausted and slept through the flight).
Basically, there is at least one AA booking agent with her head lamp plugged into her tail light socket.
Originally Posted by
braddev
I went ahead and changed the seats to an exit row and the middle aisle seat. My only guess is that she was thinking of 17, which is the crew rest seat.