Airline cancels many Dec. 31 flights

In Las Vegas

Officials at McCarran International Airport say airlines serving the airport haven't announced any plans to cut service on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day -- but they don't have to. Spokeswoman Debbie Millett said McCarran plans normal operations for those days, even if airlines cut flights because of low ticket sales or Y2K fears.

Las Vegas-based National Airlines hasn't reached a decision yet on whether it will reduce the number of flights it operates on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. "It's something we're looking at, but we haven't made any decisions just yet," said National's Dik Shimizu.

DALLAS -- Whatever people have planned for the last New Year's Eve of the millennium, apparently sitting aboard a jetliner isn't high on the list.

American Airlines said Tuesday it will scrap 20 percent of its flights on Dec. 31 and 5 percent on Jan. 1 because of slow ticket sales. Officials blamed the calendar while discounting the possibility of travelers being worried about the Y2K computer bug fouling airline operations or safety.

Tim Smith, a spokesman for American, said the airline has completed its Y2K compliance and is now running tests to check compatibility with computer systems in airports and air-traffic control centers.

"The reason for the cancellations simply is we're not seeing the business," Smith said. Advance reservations for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 -- almost always slow travel days -- are way off, he said. So instead of canceling about 10 percent of its New Year's Eve flights, as American did last year, the No. 2 U.S. carrier is canceling double that number.

Smith said bookings are ahead of pace for other days around the holiday.

Travel agent Joe Galloway wasn't surprised by the New Year's Eve cancelations.

"Nobody wants to go anywhere because it's party time," said Galloway, who owns Transcontinental Travel in Houston.

As for travelers' fears of the much-ballyhooed Y2K bug: "We haven't had anyone that is worried about it," he said.

Some analysts said there might be at least an indirect connection between slow airline ticket sales and Y2K fears.

Ray Neidl of ING Barings said he knows stock-portfolio managers who got memos to stay near the office over New Year's in case their own computers encounter Y2K problems.

"Then, with all the stories about jets falling out of the sky on New Year's, I can see why maybe people are booking away," he added.

Glenn Engel, an airline analyst for Goldman Sachs, got a memo warning about expected travel delays on New Year's weekend. For employees planning on working the next Monday or Tuesday, the investment-banking firm recommends against travel after Thursday, Dec. 30.

American is believed to be the first major U.S. carrier to announce New Year's weekend cancelations, although British billionaire Richard Branson announced that his Virgin Atlantic Airlines jets won't fly so that employees can celebrate the turn of the millennium.

United Airlines is reviewing its advance sales for the New Year's weekend, but a spokeswoman said any decision on cancelations is probably two weeks away.

Doug Killian, a spokesman for Northwest Airlines, said the airline usually reduces flights on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, and added, "We expect to do the same this year." Other major U.S. airlines couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it has repaired its critical equipment to handle the new century. Some older computers read years by only the last two digits, leading to fear that they would malfunction by reading Jan. 1 as 1900 instead of 2000.

The nation's major airlines say they are 95 percent done updating their computers and will finish this month.

Analysts said some European carriers have already canceled New Year's Eve flights -- they're worried as much about the airports they visit as their own planes.

American expects to spend $220 million to bring its computers in compliance with Y2K. Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey has said she'll travel aboard an American flight late on New Year's Eve to show she's not afraid of Y2K.

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