I think the way most airlines manage exit row seating is that they keep those seats unassigned until the day of the flight. Often you can request a seating change when you arrive at the gate and they may give you an exit row seat at that time, usually about 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time.<br><br>I'm not certain why they do that, but it may be so that airline employees can have some ability to hand-pick the exit row passengers, ensuring that the people are not obviously incapable of opening the exit doors (ie, no young children, medically frail, handicapped, etc.) Also it would allow accomodating passengers that may want or need extra leg room. It may also increase the likelihood that the exit row will be vacant in flight which would allow the trained FA's to operate the exit if needed.<br><br>A word of caution: if there are 2 adjacent exit rows as there often are over the wings, the front exit row seat backs will not recline. This prevents blocking the exit row behind. It can be less comfortable on long flights.<br><br>