I'm partial to the forward Y cabin (ex-J back from the times when these planes were three-class, with the current J cabin being ex-F), immediately behind the J one. The configuration is 2-4-2, while it's 3-3-3 further back. These are rows 7 to 10. I normally ask for 7A or 8A and when the seating is over, snatch an empty row of 4 in the middle to catch some sleep if there is one. Granted, my experience is pretty much limited to 4 flights in a row last year (and three of them - in a row - were on the same aircraft, RA-96007), but even if the flight was next to full in Y, what empty seats and rows there were were always in the forward cabin. And it does feel pretty quiet up front

This doesn't work any longer, I'm afraid.