Originally Posted by dsquared37

Don't expect too much from the lounge, but yes you'll have access if the departure airport has a lounge. It can be very crowded but it's a place to sit with wifi and a modicum of liquids and snacks.

I've never noticed any indication of preferred seating but typically the first 3 rows of Y will be blocked for Premier members, of which I've been for the last 6 years. I just did a few dummy bookings and needed to get pretty high up the fare class listing just to choose seats in front of the exit row (not signed into my account). It's rather surprising you're able to see seats that far up front without either status or a full Y fare.

As for row 1, the seats are generally identical straight across. There's a subset of A319s that have great bulkhead legroom but the rest of the fleet is decent enough.