The seat fees for elites are annoying, but I don't see it ever changing given seat fees are one of the most lucrative sources of ancillary revenue, with zero incremental cost to EI. It's basically free money for EI.

When you consider the incremental AerClub benefits introduced in recent years, they were either revenue-neutral (such as the free 2nd checked bag, where the revenue loss would have been negligible) or imposed on EI by the JV, such as partner lounge access.