I usually wouldn't pay a 3-figure (AUD) sum for an exit row seat, especially for a long-long-haul flight (say ⪆10 hours). For reference, I'm a ~6'1", ~85kg male. Have dreamt of flying J/F/R my entire life.
Having flown MEL-KUL and KUL-BLR on MH last week, I typically plead for exit row seats at check-in (and whilst waiting in line to check-in, have the seat map open and watching seats getting taken one by one).
Unfortunately this strategy has worked less times than it hasn't, which is a shame. Even trying to check-in online (or Manage Booking) at T-24/T-48/T-72 etc sometimes has hiccups. The check-in line for MH128 on Dec 15 was the longest one I've been in. Having arrived at the airport at pretty much T-3, the line was already ~200 people long, it was absolute chaos. Seeing the length of the line instantly cast immense doubt into my mind that my dream of an exit row seat would be realised. Eventually reaching the check-in counter, the lovely lady who was tending to my fiance and I understood our plight, especially after saying "we're flying over to get married!". However, the two seats (10A and 10C) that remained open all this while, were apparently "blocked", and even she couldn't put us in them. The only way to get them was to go see her "supervisor", which we promptly did and politely asked. This was met with a disgruntled, perplexed and dismissive look, and the only words she muttered were "we have a full flight tonight, as you can see, so I can't switch your seats". Sad faced, we had to walk away. My fiance was almost ready to console the tears that were about to fall down my cheeks... Anyway I digress, had to get that off my chest.
In saying that, I'm going to try the same strategy on my BLR-KUL-MEL trip on MH next month. Though the check-in agents at BLR tend to be drones who either don't understand what you're asking or simply lack the capability/willingness to assist.
Why do we even fly whY??
Back on topic, we're flying MEL-SIN-MLE in SQ Suites (!) for MEL-SIN and MI whY for SIN-MLE (how are we going to survive?), then MLE-CMB-MEL in UL whY for the return. Going to try our luck at MEL check-in asking for exit row seats for the MI leg. For the CMB-MEL leg that finishes our honeymoon, I've actually paid AUD ~70 / pax for exit row seats, for a 10/11 hr flight it made sense to pay that pittance of an amount for some comfort.
Ah, the joys of flying.