Originally Posted by ksyung

I did call the AC Hong Kong number (coz I'm in HK), the agent told me that those rows are blocked and there is nothing he could do about it. He told me to check in early and see if those seat can be selected.

I'll call the Canadian number tonight and report back. Thanks everyone for the insight.

Update:
So I just called the E25k number, the agent exact wording is: Unless she has an altitude status, she would not be able to select those seat, even on Flex fare.
I asked if I can pay a fee to select 19J and he said no.
He linked our booking references together and that's all he could do for us for now. Hopefully no one would select a middle seat 19J.