Americans of a certain age may remember an arrangement like this in some US airlines' economy cabins back in the pre-deregulation, pre-FF upgrades, pre-business class days. A certain percentage of the 3-3 economy seats (I guess the most forward seats) were constructed so the backs of the middle seats could be folded forward and down, forming a table between the window and aisle seats. I think one airline called it "super coach." Load factors back then weren't what they are today, and businesspeople typically did not fly F. The idea was that if the forward middle seats were the last booked, and therefore likely to be empty, businesspeople would be attracted to a product where they didn't have to sit directly next to anyone and had more room to put drinks and papers. Catering did not differ AFAIK.