Knowing contacts for corporate executives is certainly useful in getting more than you might get from a front-line employee; however, I disagree that for a minor complaint, emailing the CEO is appropriate; unless maybe you have a prior-establised relationship with the CEO.

Here is the advice I have heard from a number of consumer reporters, including a very respected one on CNBC: The CEO should be the last up-button to push when all else fails. You should contact the appropriate people and only push the up-button when needed; know when to push the up-button. Also, you should help them help you - you wanted your seat back or one of at least equal comfort, I would think that by explaining the situation to the head flight attendant, they would have made sure you got a seat of at least equal confort to what you had.

On one flight(not United), as I boarded I explained to the head flight attendant how I had already been on the same international route and seen the monthly movie on the last flight; I showed him my Gold FF card and asked if they could bring back to coach one of those movie viewers that business/first gets. I was told that they couldn't bring a movie viewer back because other passengers might complain. I thanked him for considering my request and went on to my coach seat. 10 minutes later the head flight attendant came back and got me (I think coach was overbooked) and brought me up, past a full business class, all the way to an empty 1st class and said "pick a seat" .