Denver International Airport on New Year's Eve due to a shortage of reservations and the possibility of Y2K glitches

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New Year's Eve flights throttled back at DIA By Scott Maxwell The Associated Press

Nov. 12 - Several airlines are canceling or scaling back flights at Denver International Airport on New Year's Eve due to a shortage of reservations and the possibility of Y2K glitches.

In addition, airport officials plan to close two concourses for a few hours that night, relying on Concourse A to handle the estimated dozen flights, said airport spokesman Chuck Cannon.

"Part of our (Y2K) contingency plan for a worst-case scenario is a total loss of power, which we don't think is going to happen,'' Cannon said Thursday.

Frontier Airlines has canceled 52 flights between 9 p.m. Dec. 31 and 7 a.m. Jan. 1, partly as a precaution in case problems develop, either with vendors or flight-control operations, said airline spokeswoman Elise Eberwein. Frontier normally operates 94 flights a day.

United, Delta, American and other carriers are cutting back their schedules, primarily because there is no demand. Airline officials said that was typical of the holiday season and unrelated to Y2K.

Cannon said airport officials decided to route traffic to the west end of Concourse A because that area can be powered by a generator. Concourse A also is connected to the terminal by both underground electric trains and a walkway, while the other concourses are served only by the trains.

"There is no problem with date sensitivity on the trains, but nothing will operate if we don't have electricity,'' Cannon said. "We have to plan for a worst case. We're a priority customer for Public Service. If we lose power, the entire metro area will have gone dark before we do.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), November 12, 1999

Answers

Someone help me out here. I seem to recall that a certain airline reservation system was declared y2k compliant early this year and that about 200,000 reservations were made. So where are all those reservations? Is CPR and Koskinan going to be the only two people flying on this date???

-- yk2 dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), November 12, 1999.

Someone help me out here. I seem to recall that a certain individual declared that he thought the ferd was going to panic in Septmeber. Everytime I ask him about this he conveniently disapears. So where did he go? Is he going to fly on Dec 31st to avoid answering me???

-- Memories (all@we.have), November 12, 1999.

If low demand is typical over New Year's then why do they schedule those flights in the first place? This smells a little to me.

-- Jean Shift (jean@aol.com), November 12, 1999.

I do not recall ANY other new years eve fights being concelled for this reason either. Sounds like a very convenient EXCUSE to me.

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), November 12, 1999.

? Is CPR and Koskinan going to be the only two people flying on this date???

Don't forget about FAA honcho Jane "it isn't my fault, my staff didn't tell me about y2k" Garvey. She'll be winging across the US, that is unless the flight she was booked on got cancelled due to lack of interest. Wouldn't that be convenient.

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), November 12, 1999.



Posted previously elsewhere, but germaine to this thread as well....

The airlines are not canceling due to lack of interest. They are canceling because they aren't sure about safety around the rollover!

Nearly empty planes are constantly in the air, especially late at night, but they fly even with low load factors because equipment and crew need to be in place for the high volume early morning flights.

Cancelling flights, the way they are, will cause havoc in the logistics of having equipment and crew in the right place at the right time.

Cancelling early, I guess they have the time to figure out what they will do.

Good reporters would be digging deep right now to ask questions about typical load factors on New Year's, as well as other late night flights. My guess is that they aren't so different this year. The airlines just don't want to have to explain away an accident.

By the way, I don't personally believe the airliners will be a problem, but rather ATC. I don't want to be in an airplane that's low on fuel waiting to be cleared for landing by a controller working manually. Jeesh....There's a scary thought!

And even a .05% chance of embeddeds on the plane causing a problem is too much for me!

It wouldn't surprise me actually, if the FAA is secretly recommending cancelation of flights. After all, didn't Jane Garvey testify that a test of all systems would occur at the rollover? She said there wasn't too much traffic in the air at that time anyway.

What a joke, she wasn't even aware that the systems all work on GMT until one of the congressmen brought it up. Alot more traffic in the air at 6 eastern, 3 western, Jane!!!!

-- Duke 1983 (Duke1983@AOL.com), November 12, 1999.


Is CPR and Koskinan going to be the only two people flying on this date???

Mr. de Jager will also be flying.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), November 13, 1999.


Gee I dont know why they would cancel any flights I seem to remember that teriffic guy on the PBS "Winter Of Discontent" stating that if there was a problem on the plane all the pilot had to do was look out the window and see where he was. So whats the problem. Of course at nite that would present a little problem but then everything is lit up so that should help too. Pilot to Co-pilot, Hey Stan is that St. Louis down there? Co-pilot, I dont think so too many cattle! Well I have enjoyed many boo fahs here and elsewhere and a good laugh some of the time which doesn't hurt.

-- Susan Barrett (sue59@bellsouth.net), November 13, 1999.

Dateline: San Francisco...

Noticing "other" things "scaling back too...

2 New Year's Eve Events Canceled
Gate bridge fireworks display, Civic Center celebration called off
Glen Martin, Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 10, 1999
)1999 San Francisco Chronicle

Mayor Willie Brown's office has dramatically scaled back its plans for a giant, citywide New Year's Eve bash, canceling the main fireworks display at the Golden Gate Bridge and a celebration at the Civic Center. ...

More...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/11/10/MN46647.DTL

[Gotta protect those "sensitive wetlands!" NEVER stopped 'em before!

Once went to the 50-year anniversary firework celebration for the Golden Gate Bridge at the Presidio's Crissy Field. Awesome display and sparkeling cascade off the GGB! It's been "tradition" to have fireworks off the bridge, every New Year's, and/or to gather in China Town, ever since I was a child. S.F. is BIG on tradition. But THIS YEAR... we've gotta protect those wetlands.

Yeah... right].

*Sigh*

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 13, 1999.


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