Originally Posted by
flatlander
Ah, I think the meaning is that you are already paying for it to be available - the passenger service charge included in your ticket pays for airport facilities, including those needed by passengers with reduced mobility. Therefore if you need it you should use it.
I don't think ground assistance and flight exit row criteria are very closely linked in the mind of the reservation computer (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Unless things have changed recently, they are not linked. I did reserve an exit row seat once (just for the heck of it) even after my booking had a special assistance request. The cabin crew didn't let me sit in an exit row seat of course as per the rules. But if you don't have a visible disability, you can get away with it.