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This doesn’t explain why the flexible compartment in front of me, on the back of the seats, is either less usable than 10 years ago (ie too inflexible), or doesn’t exist at all on some flights (Hello, Ryanair).

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I think it's about improving the turnaround on planes. When a plane lands, the crew has to get everyone out, clean the cabin, then get the next flight's passengers in -- all as quickly as possible. The shorter this turnaround, the more flights the plane can fly, and the more money the airline can make.

Flexible seat back pockets are easy for people to stuff all kinds of trash in, so that's just one more task for the crew. Inflexible slots are harder to put trash in, and harder for passengers to notice there's trash in.

Counter offer... the turnaround time is locked in, cargo unloading and refueling, but fewer tasks mean fewer crew members needed to perform those tasks in the given time. So rather than 5 cleaners descending on an arriving plane, they can put 2 or 3 on it and pocket the 2 salaries they are no longer paying.

Just an offer, I don't actually know the airlines' historical cleaning crew requirement number trends.

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