Bang! Bang! Seriously, though,Welcome to FT. I think the poster above me already explained it.

One unpleasantness I've noticed over the years on international flights is how confrontational certain FAs can be with Y pax standing up near the curtain. I once had a row 15 seat (first row of coach); I put my carry-on in the bin overhead the pilot rest seat, and a male FA rousted me when I got up to get something out of the bag mid-flight. I've occasionally seen them harrass others sitting near the curtain that they surmise might be trying to invade BE. They never seem to harrass pax on domestic flights in Y coming up to use the forward lav.

I could be wrong, but isn't it a Federal law that you stay in your ticketed cabin on International flights?

Yes, you are wrong. There is no such Federal law.

However, it is a rule on most carriers.

I remember NW enforcing it (militantly) a few years ago when my group was split between Y and J DTWNRT.

I was flying TATL, I thnk, and I was standing all the way in the back, hoping to ask for a soft drink. I was standing just off the carpeted aisle on the ruberrized floor which runs from the galley to the lav. A couple of FAs were eating, and a very senior FA looked at me and said - - You're not allowed to stand off of the carpeted area. HUH??? I was SHOCKED!! Any other FA I have ever told this to, was always equally shocked!

I have always had great chats with FAs way in the back! . . . . . awaiting a fun reply from TH!

There is a big difference between rules and laws. Rules can be bent and broken without any real consequences whereas the laws cannot be (at least in theory).

Apparently Delta does not mind having BE passengers going to the Y cabin, but the opposite is not OK.

With BE tickets costing 10X (+) coach tickets, I think that is a reasonable rule for Dl to enforce.

Really? Why should BE passengers inconvenience Y pax and crowd the already tight Y quarters? Shouldn't it be beneath the BE pax to mingle with the "masses"?

(a rhetorical question, don't bother to answer. I know your views from your recent posts).

Oh, bubba, that's just low!

But good to know how to annoy the living hell out of you! I will be using DTW more often soon ...

The Purser on the DL flight from LHR to JFK I took last yeat used the phrase 'respect the curtain' at least 3 times during his 'welcome' message.

I was in BE so never needed to diss the curtain!

The behaviour of the FA was poor, sorry to hear the children were sick and kudos for your help with the sick passenger but this bears repeating over and over again:

You're already more likely to disturb other passengers when traveling with young children, but for the sake of everyone else on the plane don't spread the disturbance across two cabins. Get four seats in J, or ask for a row of 4 Y seats right at the back of the economy cabin.

Someone posted that this would not have happened on an SQ or a CX. Which is why in my experience on Asian carriers, the number of times on night flights the flight crew did exactly what the OP requested and everyone around the PAX in either cabin is kept awake by the shuffling up and down the aisles, agitated whispering in hushed tones, bumping of seats etc etc. Just when you think they're finally sorted out in the business cabin and you are about to fall asleep again, they pop back into economy and thrash around in the overhead bins and hand luggage for some other emergency item and wake everyone in their vicinity again.

There's a reason Malaysia Airlines is banning kids from First Class and introducing a kid-free zone on their A380.

I'm sure everyone else on board will be appreciative of the ruckus moving back and forth between cabins. Will baby vomit be included as well? Nothing says class like annoying your fellow travelers.

Bolding mine - I've seen both BE FAs & pilots give the person seated next to the rest seat a tutorial in what to do/not do regarding the seat (don't put your stuff there, don't take the pillow/quilt, THIS is your control, THIS is for the pilot, etc). So in addition to you crossing the magic curtain, perhaps there was extra sensitivity around potentially disturbing the rest seat?

Though I've had the opposite - once seated 1B in TATL BE I got up to use the lav, the FA said...'he's been in there a LONG time, you may want to use the one in the rear' which I proceeded to do. Though it involved crossing a curtain that separated BE from Y on that side, to cross the BE aft galley to the other BE lav...an FA said "Are you supposed to be here?" to which I replied, "the purser strongly recommended I not use the forward lav."