Originally Posted by
Amex For Children Of Africa
Does this mean those seats are really there, but AA is blocking them? Anyway to get around this, like booking, but not choosing seats?
Expertflyer and AA.com are telling you the same story: those seats are only available to elite and full-fare (i.e. "premium") passengers. AA shows them to you as blocked (since presumably you don't qualify to select them), EF labels them with "P."
Premium seats are usually made available to everyone 24 hours before departure. Your options are either to pay for two seats together now, or pick two free middle seats now and roll the dice that two adjacent seats will open up at check-in.