I took my first flights since this gambit was rolled out. Six of them, in fact. Roundtrips to PHL, LGA, and ATL. I was able to sit in either 3C or 3D for the first two cities, sat in 4C and 4D for ATL. All six flights had the middles in row 1 and 2 open. Worse, LGA had nobody in row 1 either flight, and PHL nobody in rows 1 and 2 on outbound from CLE. Aside from being unfriendly to all Elites, I question the wisdom of offering these $49 upgrades on flights that are barely over an hour.
For the record, 5 of the 6 flights were barely half full, with the ATL return to CLE being the only flight was moderately full. At 50 percent or so of seats sold, most at $19 or $29 fares, these flights will not be long for this world. Yes, some bags were sold, but it can't have been enough to make up for all of the empty seats. In fact, the flight attendants allowed passengers to move up to the first couple of rows --the "premium" seats-- once the seating count was completed.
Just providing data points...