Mandala safety

I have been a frequent flyer since the 1970s and probably have clocked over 3,000 flights.

On Nov. 3 I took Mandala's flight RI 394 from Tarakan to Jakarta, and have never before seen the seats on an aircraft so close together; it was impossible for me to sit down.

Contemplating three hours in a half-standing posture, I complained to the flight staff, who were very sympathetic and put me in row one. It's not that I'm concerned about the safety aspects of the additional weight of additional rows of passengers, but thinking back to the recent accident in Medan, it would have been extremely difficult to escape from such a congested space.

I didn't check the "emergency window" seats, but would imagine they were quite close together also.

Apart from the sheer discomfort of sore kneecaps or half standing for the duration, one would think that there is some regulation concerning the minimum spacing between seats for emergency safety reasons.

MAX GUARD Jakarta