The view map question from pyrite pete is interesting.
I always assumed that -based on my own cheapskate behaviour - few people would bother to pay for reserved seating on flights of under ,say, 90 mins - but for a long haul flight more people would pay.
Checking with my contacts in EI this proves to be the case - for every extra hours flight there's a proportionate increase in people who pay to reserve seats.
So, whilst seat maps to U.K. and North-West Europe mean very little, the map-seats to USA destinations may give a better indication as to whether prices will change.
So - and this proves my life is boring - I've recorded several seat maps and prices on US flights some months ahead to see if one can accurately forecast price changes.
If only I was interested in soccer.