can't help you with seat selection on shanghai air, (and they're not listed on seatguru.com) but as far as meeting your friend it shouldn't be too tough. there are lots of folks waiting for those of us coming through the doors, (go to the green line, the one with the red means you have something to declare to customs) but you should be able to pick your friend out from the crowd with relative ease. if your friend isn't chinese, it'll be even easier

if you don't know what the person looks like, a sign might be helpful...but i've always enjoyed the crush of coming out into pvg. immediate immersion into china and chinese culture.

going myself in mid sept...can't wait. ^