Reclined seats for take off and landing Normally on commercial flights, passengers are expected to bring their seats to an upright position for take off and landing. There are a few valid reasons for this.

A little while ago, on a couple flights in Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic the pre-flight announcement stated that their seats are certified for take off and landing in any state of recline.  I didn't think of it much at the time (other than, "oh, ok then"), but now thinking back I don't think I've ever encountered this on any other airline.

So my question is two-fold. First, what kind of certification was the announcement referring to? And, second, are there any other airlines that have this "feature"?

Update on response to a comment. The seat belt in that case was a standard lap belt. The seats themselves were positioned somewhat diagonally facing partially forward and were almost like bucket seats in the upright position.
In normal cabin seats, the reason not to recline them for takeoff &amp; landing is so the reclined seat won't impede egress for passengers in the row behind yours.  If the seats in question on VA wouldn't do that (ample space between rows, perhaps), then the usual driver for requiring seats to be fully upright is gone.

Presumably whatever "certification" they referred to considered the ability to get out of one's own seat in case of an evacuation.