Originally Posted by
Ocn Vw 1K
Airline seat maps only show which seats have not yet been assigned to a specific customer, but they do not show how full the aircraft is booked.
As an example, if there are 20 first class seats in a cabin, but 16 first class reservations are booked (or upgrades confirmed), the seat map may show only 8 seats assigned, as some confirmed in first may not have selected seat assignments yet.
Airline premium economy cabins may show a number of seats available up to an hour before flight time, but that cabin may be full when the aircraft door closes.
All of which means OP has no idea if there will be an empty seat until everybody has boarded. The class availability doesn't account for no-shows or LMUs so at best you only get a rough idea of the general population anyway.
Seems a good way to get disappointed to me. YMMV