Several airlines reschedule New Year's Eve flights

By Christiani S.A. Tumelap

JAKARTA (JP): Several foreign airlines operating in Indonesia have rescheduled or canceled their flights to and from or within the country on New Year's Eve due to concerns on the possible impact of the Y2K computer glitch.

Japan Airlines' sales manager for Indonesia, Shuichi Sakamoto, said the carrier would reschedule its Jakarta services, which departed slightly before midnight, in line with the airline's policy not to fly in the midnight hours of Dec. 31 for safety operation reasons.

"Disregard our readiness regarding Y2K problems, we should keep safe operations. The departure time for flights on Dec. 31 to Tokyo and Osaka will be delayed until the early hours of Jan. 1," he told The Jakarta Post.

Japan Airlines flies daily from Jakarta to Tokyo and Osaka.

Y2K refers to problems computerized systems could face at the turn of the century, when their two-digit year counters fail to distinguish between 1900 and 2000.

The glitch may cause computers to shut down or fail to function properly. Power supplies may falter, telephones and transportation systems may stop operating and automated banking transactions may fail.

Taiwan-based EVA Air said it would fly as usual to Taipei from Jakarta or Denpasar on New Year's Eve but would suspend its connecting flights between Denpasar and Surabaya as a precautionary measure.

EVA Air's Jakarta branch assistant manager for passenger section, Diana Mawarsari, told the Post, "We decided to suspend the flights because we are not sure about the Y2K preparedness at the respective airports."

She said the connecting flights between Denpasar and Surabaya were among 34 worldwide flights canceled by the airline between Dec. 30, 1999 and Jan. 1, 2000, in anticipation of a Y2K glitch.

EVA Air currently has seven direct flights a week departing from Jakarta to Taipei and seven direct flights -- three of which connect to Surabaya -- a week departing from Denpasar to Taipei.

Low demand

Some foreign airlines also decided to reschedule or cancel their Jakarta service for the turn of the century, but attributed their policies mainly on a lack of adequate seat demand, not the Y2K dreads.

Australian air carrier Qantas will reschedule its flight from Sydney to Jakarta en route to Singapore on Dec. 31.

Claire Hatton, the Indonesian manager for Qantas and British Airways, said the flight would return to Sydney straight from Singapore without stopping in Jakarta on the way back as it did on the departure.

"We have only a few passengers to pick up in Jakarta on the way back to Sydney. After all, not many people want to be stuck on the airplane with possible strangers on the New Year's Eve. They would rather be at parties with friends and relatives," she said.

According to one of its Jakarta reservation staffers, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has decided to cancel its flights departing and arriving in Jakarta on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 because of low demands on the flights.

Royal Brunei is considering canceling its flights departing Jakarta and Surabaya to Bandar Seri Begawan on Dec. 31 due to the low demand on seats, a Jakarta reservation employee said.

She said the airline had only received 11 bookings for the Dec. 31 flight, which actually has a 200-seat capacity.

She said the airline has no flight scheduled for Jan. 1.

Royal Brunei flies to Bandar Seri Begawan every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from Jakarta; every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Surabaya, East Java; every Monday and Wednesday from Denpasar, Bali; and every Thursday and Sunday from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Y2K fears or lack of demand, however, seem not to be a plight for some foreign airlines as they are keeping their end-of-year services on schedule.

German Airlines Lufthansa is keeping its Jakarta service for Jan. 1 on schedule. Lufthansa said it had not received any instructions from headquarters on necessary Y2K actions, such as rescheduling or canceling its flight departing Jakarta to Frankfurt on the first day of 2000.

A worker at the airline's reservation office said bookings for the Jan. 1 flight were full for economy seats, leaving only a slight chance for passengers to book the few available seats in business class and first class.

Lufthansa flies direct from Jakarta to Frankfurt every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The Hong Kong-based air carrier Cathay Pacific is also keeping its Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 flights from Jakarta to Singapore or Hong Kong on schedule, with economy seating already fully booked.

A reservation staffer of the airline's Jakarta office, however, said there was concern over Indonesian airports' readiness of the Y2K problems that might later force the airline to delay the departure time of its flights.

Another Asian air carrier, Korean Air, has no plan to cancel its flights departing Jakarta to Seoul during the rollover date to Jan. 1, 2000.

But, according to a staffer at its Jakarta reservation office, it may consider rescheduling the departure time for its flight on Jan. 1.

Korean Air, which flies from Jakarta to Seoul five times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, does not have a flight leaving or arriving in Jakarta on Dec. 31.