I checked the united seatmap for the 1/15 LAX-NRT leg and the same flight on 1/8. I thought I would see a lot of open seats on a Tuesday flight but I did not. 1/8 looks pretty full. On both, there were no open middle seats along the sides, so some are assigned and some are blocked. On the 1/15 flight, there were still some open window seats in the Premier zone, but also no middle seats open. The seat maps show a lot of airport control seats at the back and the availability numbers are still OK so the overall loading is probably OK but the premier zones seat maps were surprising to me. Is that where you are seated? Have you checked to be sure your middle seats are blocked as opposed to assigned? Even if you do not have status, a Premier Exec on the aisle could block the middle seat until the airport needs it.

[This message has been edited by Warrenlm (edited 12-29-2001).]