Originally Posted by
50ae
There was a small screen to control the seat and two lights and it had a button showing the seat laid flat but no matter how long I pushed it, it would not lay flat. I also tried pushing the individual seat controls and they would not make the seat flat. They didn't feel like something I'd call international 1st class. I was seated in 5H btw.
I’ve flown in the 787s, and the 787-8 has the Zodiac “Concept D” seats AA ultimately rejected for the bulk of 772s after Zodiac had production and function problems; the 787-9 has the Super Diamond Solo seats from B/E Aerospace, a quite different seat that most consider superior.
Both seats do go fully flat, however, so yours likely malfunctioned. Did you ask the FAs for assistance? The arm rests do recede downwards, but there’s a slight knack to get them to move easily.
The FAA required diagonal torso air bag belts are required for seats that do not fully face forward, to dissipate lateral forces not encountered in fully forward (or aft) facing seats. They only need to be worn during ground maneuvers, takeoff and landing operations, as
TheSkyGuy stated.