I can't speak for Etihad, but I assume that Etihad probably think it sounds friendlier than the word passenger or customer (call them customers they might remember that they have paid for the service that they are/are not receiving!!).
Don't forget though, leg room seats are not always on the emergency exit rows. Some airlines have extra leg room in a specific part of the cabin (Monarch I believe have their extra leg room at the front of the cabin for a certain number of rows), also it depends on the aircraft type in use.
So an airline won't be able to say "you will/will not have reclining seats....." as it depends very much on what aircraft is being used for that service. If a route is very popular, an airline can substitute a smaller aircraft for a larger one (if they have a spare one available) which would again alter the locations of the leg room seats/emergency exit seats.
And irate pax don't bother me in the slightest, I have been doing this job too long now to let them get to me!
