I'm 2P on UA and have no status on NW, but I may end up flying with NW to Europe this summer.

I learned on a previous thread that the aisle seats in the de facto economy plus section up front in the Airbus planes are reserved for elites.

Is it possible to pay extra to reserve them as a non-elite?

Also, for those of you who travel to Europe frequently, all the airlines that I'm willing to fly are showing prices in the $1200 range for London and $1500 for the Continent. Based on past experience, are these prices likely to come down or go up before June, and if so, when do the prices rises/drops tend to occur?

(This is a continuation of questions I asked earlier.)