It's like that on many carriers. I've always been able to circumvent it on CX by calling in advance and explaining that I would like that seat (1A) and that I understand that if someone with a small child needs it for the bassinet connection, I will be reassigned to a different seat. They always give it to me; and I've never been displaced by a bassinet-needing passenger. My impression so far is that QR will not do this, and just leaves all of those seats under airport control.