<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bear96:
Rows 13 and 14 on the internationally-configured 767-300 are indeed crew rest seats for international flights. They are sort of a hybrid between C and Y seats-- not as wide or as much pitch as the other C seats, but more pitch than Y seats, and with leg rests. (And there are video screens located in the armrests on those seats-- you should have asked the F/As how to access them.)
While I cannot condone an "irritated tone" or a rude "hrumph" from the F/As, they ARE only supposed to be used if there are no other Y seats available when customers check in. The reason it may have rubbed the F/As the wrong way if the CSRs allocated them improperly (which I assume to be the case since you mentioned the flight wasn't full) is because the C galley on this configuration is EXTREMELY cramped and difficult to work in for the level of service expected by management and by the customers, so it helps to be able to use those seats as an basically an extension of the C galley. Typically if those seats are not assigned to customers, during the meal service you will see the tray tables pulled out on all four of those seats and used as extra counter space.
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Some 767-200's have a similar set of 4 crew rest seats. I assume the rules about their use are the same as Bear96 describes for the 767-300? I have been reseated into these seats twice (both times without asking):
1. my business class seat wouldn't lock upright (kept reclining) and there were no other bus or first seats available (coach was full too even!), so they moved me to the crew rest before takeoff (actually while taxing slowly, but don't tell anyone).
2. again first was full and there was one empty seat next to me in business. At the last moment a passenger comes on and as he walks down the aisle you can just see people wincing. When he sits next to me he reeks to high heaven. A moment later (I hadn't done or said anything) the purser comes and squats down next to my aisle seat and starts whispering with me, suggesting I might be more 'comfortable' moving back to the crew rest area. I readily agree...and hastily move.
Both times the crew were ever polite and kind to me, even though I was in 'their' space. My general rule of thumb is to engage crew in conversation (beyond the basics) only when invited, but I've enjoyed every conversation I've ever had with crew.
-BP