tacommuter

Is there ever an occasion when it is considered an acceptable or normal practice to have a passenger seated in a flight attendant jump seat for the majority of a flight?

On a recent vacation trip with the whole (large) family, I had for the MUC-BCN connecting flight on LH intentionally chosen the exit row seat, not only for its comfort, but also so as to have easy access to the aisle to be able to check frequently on the others in our group.

However, shortly after take-off a very large older Germanic man plopped down in the flight attendant's jump seat in our row which when down completely blocks access to the aisle (and in fact would completely block access to the exit for everyone else in case of emergency). I was just about to point out to the passenger (who from his demeanor certainly appeared to be a regular tourist passenger on holiday, not an off-duty pilot, FA, etc.) that he could not use that seat when my wife informed me (I had not been paying attention) that it was actually a flight attendant who had moved the man there. He remained in that spot until we began the descent into Barcelona, and the flight attendants even served him his sandwich and drink there - even though there was no table for him (he held his lunch in his lap and kept looking longingly back at our tray tables, as if waiting for us to volunteer to share).

I should note that that flight was far from full, so I can't imagine what would have led the flight attendants to do this. But beyond that, I kept thinking that surely this must be a violation of safety regulations, no? Are LH FA's really allowed to use their jump seats as simply a more comfy place for an occasional oversized passenger - even if that puts a person of very questionable fitness not only seated in an exit row but in an odd forward, obstructive position in an exit row?