I never understood why airliners don't have more rear-facing seats, particularly in economy. It's only usually in business/first you find them, and thats to optimise the space each passenger has while minimising the aircraft space each seat takes up.
Deceleration after landing (or during an RTO) is usually much greater than acceleration during take-off, so more comfortable to be facing backwards for landing than forwards. Once airborne it doesn't really make a difference, I'm not sure anyone would be able to tell which way they were travelling.
I remember when BEA had some rear-facing seats in the Trident 2. You certainly knew which way you were facing during the initial climb, as the seat belt was the only thing stopping you sliding off your seat into the back of the one you were facing. Quite uncomfortable.
Although the detachable passenger cabin may not be acceptable, the concept might work in a freighter as a solution to in-flight cargo fires. Dump the cargo, re-trim, and hope there was nothing significant on the ground below.