Originally Posted by
AA2070
Way back in the day (like the days of the Bistro Bags, which is an unfathomable amenity in Y now), AA used to block the seats next to EXPs. They could still be sold, but they were the last seats to be assigned.
Shortly after the merger, I remember flying on a few AA flights that had the middle seats blocked for elites. There was a tray covering the seat, so it would have been very difficult to seat a passenger there (you would have needed tools to take the tray out). This was in Oct 2014.