Yeah saw that, was hoping the polite language of "we request all passengers to" left it open for auto checkin still being an option, but I know that was overly hopeful.

As far as seats I'm specifically wondering if they're hard sided under the arm rest like AA has on their exit rows, which are uncomfortable for a 9+ hour flight. I tried to find pics or a video showing exit rows specifically but there's really not much zipair content out there, so hoping for someone to relay their experience.