BUT PLANES WON'T FALL FROM THE SKY! (Are you as sick of that inanity as I am??)

Perhaps those who plan to limit their preps to a week might be advised to carry them along to the airport if they're travelling by air during rollover, if the following press release has any validity. No need to pay for extra luggage, you use it all up in the airport- right?

Lee

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Average global air passenger delay to be 7 days due to Y2K

Planes will not fall out of the sky, but logistics issues on the ground are likely to cause delays.

June 24, 1999 --

The 30 busiest passenger airports are located in countries that are behind in Y2K preparations and fixes, which could delay average air passenger travel by 7 days according to a London specialist consultancy.

The countries which are home to the Worlds 30 largest airports were analysed for Y2K failure scenarios and then placed on a damage estimate scale called the Y2K Storm Rating scale with a ranking from 1 to 6, with 6 being the worst case scenario. The average Y2K Storm Rating of these countries was 1.8. This average score of 1.8 corresponds with an average transportation delay scenario of 7 days. There is significant variance between countries.

International delays are hard to predict as many countries have widely divergent levels of Y2K preparation. International air travel works like a giant network with an estimated half of all planes on long haul flights in the air at any one time. Delays in one part of the global air traffic network may cause delays in other sections as planes miss connections, landing slots and other time sensitive windows.

The scale, known as the Y2K Storm Rating, is used by International Monitoring to assess the risk profile for 140 countries. The scale is used to assess the probable delays in critical infrastructure such as utilities, telecoms, transportation and banking due to Y2K problems which will be unfixed or improperly fixed.

Organisations dependent on air travel should consider the risk of using various ports of entry and methods of transportation during the Y2K period.

International Monitoring, a consultancy based in London assesses the technology infrastructure of countries, the efficiency of the Y2K fixes and estimates of the lateness of certain fixes. These analyses are then used to calculate dollar damages and probable Y2K scenarios.

The results are useful for those conducting business internationally or those concerned with foreign business partners. For more information visit International Monitoring's web site at www.intl-monitoring.com. and download a product brochure.

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For More Information Contact:

International Monitoring 4 Coleherne Court, The Little Boltons, London SW5 ODL, United Kingdom Tel: 44-171-373-2856 FAX: 44-171-373-2856 Internet: inform@intl-monitoring.com Copyright ) 1999 International Monitoring

-- Lee (lplapin@hotmail.com), June 24, 1999

Answers

This is particularly interesting for those of us who live in high tourism areas. We are expecting 80-100% occupancy over the night of December 31. It looks as if some of our guests may be staying an extra week or so (after they've spent all their money)...better get another sack of rice, I guess. Possible opportunity for my church.

On the flip side, new incoming guests (with money) probably won't make it in...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), June 24, 1999.

With a nod in Buddy's direction . .

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9906/23/faa.y2k.idg/

FAA: Don't be fooled by airlines' Y2K claims June 23, 1999 Web posted at: 1:12 p.m. EDT (1712 GMT)

by Stewart Deck

(IDG) -- Next January, the year 2000 bug will get blamed for plenty of slowdowns and equipment failures, but some U.S. airlines are already blaming Y2K systems testing for flight delays.

Don't believe it.

"I have no idea why airlines would say that. It's completely false," said Paul Takemoto, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. "All of our [Y2K] systems testing was completed last March."

Nonetheless, at least two airlines have told fliers that Y2K testing delayed their flights. Last Monday, American Airlines gate agents in Chicago told passengers headed to Providence that nationwide ground stoppages were being caused by Y2K testing. But Elizabeth Cory, the FAA's deputy of public affairs for the Great Lakes region, said, "That's not true. It appears that we have some ground agents giving out inaccurate information. There is no Y2K testing taking place."

John Hotard, a spokesman for American, said gate agents often look for a quick, convenient answer to give harried passengers. "Y2K testing can be an easy answer to give for delays when they really don't know," Hotard said. "We need to do a better job of giving accurate information to agents."

Several FAA insiders tell of FAA Administrator Jane Garvey's flight last month on US Airways that was ostensibly held up by Y2K air- traffic control systems testing. Garvey called her control center to check the excuse and was told it was a fabrication. Chagrined US Airways Group Inc. officials have since acknowledged the importance of being accurate with customers.

One air traffic official conceded that there have been more flight delays recently but said they are attributable to systems upgrades, not Y2K testing. Ken Kluge, an air traffic controller and the safety representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in the Great Lakes Region, said the FAA is replacing the 1970s- vintage workstations in each of the 20 national Air Route Traffic Control Centers with new radar tracking equipment and color monitors.

Recent installations in Cleveland, Chicago and New York have required some restrictions on air traffic so the controllers could become comfortable working on the new consoles. That has slowed down air traffic, he said. Michael Motta, president of the Seattle branch of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said airlines are using Y2K to deflect blame from their own problems.

Reporters Patrick Thibodeau and Kathleen Ohlson contributed to this story.

Youre Welcome

W

-- W0lv3r1n3 (W0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), June 25, 1999.

See this thread for some comments on the "Dont be fooled" story.

Interesting how closely the International Monitoring report tracks the recent Gartner report "Global Airline Schedules Will Be Disrupted by Year 2000" (14 May 1999).

I cant post the contents, due to copyright restrictions, but Gartner is expecting "significant disruption" from December 30 through January 5. "Service as normal is an impossibility."

-- Alan Rushby (arushby@my-deja.com), June 25, 1999.

And when did anyone suggest that there would be absolutely no problems due to Y2K in the air transport industry ? Its as reliant on functioning technology as any, and when problems occur, there will be delays, cancellations, and difficulties, no doubt. However, one would hope that they will be minimised to every extent possible by the current frenzy of planning and remediation. Whatever they miss, the passenger will pay for in lost time.

This story however concerns the airline staff succombing to the temptation to blame current problems on Y2K remediation.

-- W0lv3r1n3 (W0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), June 25, 1999.

No, the story is about the FAAs absurd claim that installing new Y2K-compliant computers does not constitute "Y2K testing," and using its regulatory muscle to insist that airlines sing from the same page.

"Succumbing?" Interesting choice of words.

-- Alan Rushby (arushby@my-deja.com), June 25, 1999.