Thanks Dave & Time Traveller.

Yes, I kind of had the feeling I was out of luck on this one. I believe my fare classes for this trip were N & V which are discount economy.

TT - Fortunately, IMO we have the best exit row seats for the WT class LHR-CPT flights so that is indeed a good thing. You are probably right that a lucky op-up or being able to purchase an upgrade at the airport would be our only chance.

DN - Didn't use any miles on this trip, but I'm trying to stay on AA metal for the ORD-LHR segment to burn a few SWUs. I don't really have any other international travel for this year so having the SWUs confirmed for myself & DW is nice for the ORD-LHR portion.

I think at this point, we'll just enjoy our F seats ORD-LHR segments, spend our layover in a few of those amazing LHR BA lounges, and then "manage through" our LHR-CPT segments in WT exit row seats. Definitely not something to complain about