In another place, I wrote some notes on Court Line, but one of the two areas I got a 'little nasty' was on the subject of Seat Back Catering:
There is one aspect of Court Line's 1-11 Operation which even today causes irritation to those who had to Dispatch/Cater/Cabin Crew them. Let alone bringing a twinge in the knees and the suppressed memory of the slightly stale roll outbound and the missing roll inbound , in the minds of former passengers.
I am referring to the worst passenger configuration ever implemented on the BAC 1-11, the 119Y with Seat Back Catering (normally 114Y was considered the maximum charter configuration for a 1-11 500 Series).
Whilst I understand why Court Line dreamed it up, with such low yields per passenger, seat maximization was vital. However it was a violation of the Human Rights of anyone taller than 5ft 10 inches. Plus it meant that the 'food' was beyond any jokes made about Airline Catering before, or since!
If soemone in this fourm feels able to mount a 'non-economic' defence of seat back catering, I will rush out and buy a stale ham roll and eat it.