Is the front row in CE reserved for Gold only?
 

I know this has been discussed before, but I can't remember the current situation...
Are the front seats shown as blocked on Expertflyer reserved for Gold’s only, or Silver as well?

Yes ^

Golds, Emeralds, and anyone on the same booking as a Gold/Emerald.

And available to everyone that has access to advanced seating at around 72 hours before departure.

Not silvers and on busy routes it can be more than 1st row. e.g. FRA > LHR on the 909.

Front row is reserved for golds...
 

...except when those golds are on the LHR-BUD BA operated flight but booked on the Malev code in which case..."computer says no".:mad::mad:

Although it may take multiple calls before you find an agent who knows how to reseat a non-Gold/Emerald accompanying pax. Perseverance will pay off eventually! :)

Cheers!

Personally I never select row 1 in CE as the leg room doesn’t seem quite as good as row 2 and further back since you can extend your legs under the seat in front.

Provided you pick the aisle seats you can stick your legs out a lot further than row 2 and rearwards. Mind you you have to watch out for out of control trolleys! ;)

Another much bigger advantage is that there is nobody in front to recline their seat into your lap.

Even as a Pleb Gold, I always seem to have availability to row 1. I upgraded my Y ticket to I class at T5 for my flight back to DUS on Sunday and row 1 AC were still available for selection.

1C and D are fine for a short hot (I'm 6 ft) but feel quite cramped on a long sector i.e. ATH. 2C is much nicer on that sort of route...or 27A which is much, much more comfy.

I believe they allow Premiers as well, but am not certain. :p

xxxxx

Different bulkheads on different aircraft seem to extend different distances into the cabin, but I'd agree that it's generally risky to sit in row 1 if you are longer of leg. I think I best saw these seats described as 'more knee room, less leg room'.

There's seldom bag space above row 1 either - which can be a pain if the cabin is full and you are late boarding.

So why does everyone seem to want to bag these seats? the only good thing would seem to be no one to recline in your face, other things such as stretch room (I'm 6ft), bag space would seem to outweigh this. Sure you can get off the plane 10 seconds earlier than row 2 but, IMHO, these are probably the worst seats in CE. Is it a big DYKWIA moment, if you get 1A? :D:D