Y2K to hit reservations systems today
Feb 4, 1999 | 7:59 am
#1
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Y2K to hit reservations systems today
FLIGHT-BOOKING SYSTEMS are able to work either 330 or 331 days in advance, meaning that Feb. 4 is the first day that customers can buy tickets for flights departing on Jan. 1, 2000, a date that could be mistaken for Jan. 1, 1900, if the industry’s efforts prove ineffective. That could spell chaos.
“Everyone has been talking about Jan. 1 as a key date but it’s Feb. 4 for us,” said Ronnie Hauptman, Galileo International Inc.’s Year 2000 director.
More than 100,000 travel agencies that book around 80 percent of all flights depend on systems operated by just a handful of computer reservation system (CRS) companies.
If those companies and their partners are able to handle the year 2000 rollover on Thursday, the date-dependent travel industry will have shown it is well on its way to crushing the once-dreaded Y2K bug.
The Year 2000 or Y2K problem stems from the once-common practice of using only two digits for recording the year in computer programs, like 99 for 1999. That shortcut has the potential to confuse computers and software that have not been prepared to read the date correctly, causing them to put out bad data or not work at all.
Hauptman, based at Galileo’s Denver operation, plans to be up all night on Thursday watching for rogue data flashing across her screens.
Galileo, the world’s second-largest CRS company handles about a third of world travel bookings. Sabre Group Holdings Inc., the No. 1 travel reservation company, handles another third. Spain’s Amadeus Global Travel Distribution — in which Iberia, Air France, Lufthansa and Continental Airlines own stakes — is a major player. WorldSpan, in which Northwest Airlines, Trans World Airlines and Delta Air lines have interests, is a fourth big CRS.
On Thursday, one of the biggest challenges facing these companies, and the airlines and travel agents that depend on them, is the Year 2000 readiness of suppliers and vendors around the world.
Analysts are watching to see if CRS companies can protect their networks from data that is not ready for the year 2000 and handle internally any problems that may arise.
Some airline companies have taken year 2000 bookings since Jan. 3, and cruise line companies have taken them since last year. All of that has passed without incident, analysts said.
Nancy Raynor, a vice president at Sabre, expects 90 percent of suppliers to have their systems ready for year 2000 dates.
The company plans to stop non-Y2K compliant data at the door, and continue to do so until that supplier is Year 2000 ready.
She expects Feb. 4 to give the industry a good idea of how heavy demand will be in the first days of 2000, amid concerns by some that the computer bug could cause service disruptions or even accidents. That may discourage people from traveling.
To be sure, the travel industry will still face some key Y2K tests after Feb. 4. While airlines and car rental companies take their first bookings on Thursday, hotels handle their first reservations for the year 2000 on Friday.
Then there is the big day itself — Jan. 1, 2000. Still, if the industry can get past Feb. 4, it can probably get past anything, analysts said.
“It really just is an acid test of how successful they’ve been in year 2000 compliance,” said Dillon Warburg’s Michael Stellwag, “whether or not they’ve made the right investments.”
“Everyone has been talking about Jan. 1 as a key date but it’s Feb. 4 for us,” said Ronnie Hauptman, Galileo International Inc.’s Year 2000 director.
More than 100,000 travel agencies that book around 80 percent of all flights depend on systems operated by just a handful of computer reservation system (CRS) companies.
If those companies and their partners are able to handle the year 2000 rollover on Thursday, the date-dependent travel industry will have shown it is well on its way to crushing the once-dreaded Y2K bug.
The Year 2000 or Y2K problem stems from the once-common practice of using only two digits for recording the year in computer programs, like 99 for 1999. That shortcut has the potential to confuse computers and software that have not been prepared to read the date correctly, causing them to put out bad data or not work at all.
Hauptman, based at Galileo’s Denver operation, plans to be up all night on Thursday watching for rogue data flashing across her screens.
Galileo, the world’s second-largest CRS company handles about a third of world travel bookings. Sabre Group Holdings Inc., the No. 1 travel reservation company, handles another third. Spain’s Amadeus Global Travel Distribution — in which Iberia, Air France, Lufthansa and Continental Airlines own stakes — is a major player. WorldSpan, in which Northwest Airlines, Trans World Airlines and Delta Air lines have interests, is a fourth big CRS.
On Thursday, one of the biggest challenges facing these companies, and the airlines and travel agents that depend on them, is the Year 2000 readiness of suppliers and vendors around the world.
Analysts are watching to see if CRS companies can protect their networks from data that is not ready for the year 2000 and handle internally any problems that may arise.
Some airline companies have taken year 2000 bookings since Jan. 3, and cruise line companies have taken them since last year. All of that has passed without incident, analysts said.
Nancy Raynor, a vice president at Sabre, expects 90 percent of suppliers to have their systems ready for year 2000 dates.
The company plans to stop non-Y2K compliant data at the door, and continue to do so until that supplier is Year 2000 ready.
She expects Feb. 4 to give the industry a good idea of how heavy demand will be in the first days of 2000, amid concerns by some that the computer bug could cause service disruptions or even accidents. That may discourage people from traveling.
To be sure, the travel industry will still face some key Y2K tests after Feb. 4. While airlines and car rental companies take their first bookings on Thursday, hotels handle their first reservations for the year 2000 on Friday.
Then there is the big day itself — Jan. 1, 2000. Still, if the industry can get past Feb. 4, it can probably get past anything, analysts said.
“It really just is an acid test of how successful they’ve been in year 2000 compliance,” said Dillon Warburg’s Michael Stellwag, “whether or not they’ve made the right investments.”
Feb 4, 1999 | 11:02 am
#2
Commander Catcop
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 10,259
IF there is anyone/knows anyone in the travel reservations industry or airline/hotel reservations I'd be curious to know how this little "experiment" played out.
If it doesn't... then everything will crash on MY BIRTHDAY!!!
OMNI OPINION: I feel the y2k situation is something to focus on, like celebrating the millenium a year before it really happens, but I think the media's overblowing both! If financial and service industry companies (like airlines and banks) haven't prepared for Y2K by now than I would be stunned. CATMAN
If it doesn't... then everything will crash on MY BIRTHDAY!!!
OMNI OPINION: I feel the y2k situation is something to focus on, like celebrating the millenium a year before it really happens, but I think the media's overblowing both! If financial and service industry companies (like airlines and banks) haven't prepared for Y2K by now than I would be stunned. CATMAN
Feb 4, 1999 | 11:09 am
#4
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Houston, Texas, TEXAS
Posts: 1,510
AnnaS, Catman would like for everyday to be his birthday as long as he did not get any older and received gifts. However, you probably are the first to wish "Happy Birthday" to the illustrious Cat this year. The CAT's birhday is 12/31!!
Feb 4, 1999 | 1:52 pm
#6
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Arlington, VA, USA
Posts: 858
OMNI: My Father-in-Law's b'day is 1/1 and I was in Atlanta for his party so couldn't wish Catman a happy this year and probably won't be able to next year, either, whether the clocks work in Y2K or not). My wife works for a gov't regulatory agency that has told employees that there may not be any leave at the end of the year, just in case they have to shut down a bunch of banks.
Feb 4, 1999 | 6:41 pm
#7
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Hong Kong soon to be London
Posts: 208
Catman:
Prepare to be stunned.
Quasi-OMNI:
American banks and airlines are pretty well prepared, but their foreign counterparts are not. European banks have been busy preparing for the Euro, and many Asian banks don't have enough money to fix Y2K. Last night there was a spot on CNBC about a hospital in Taiwan that simply reset the clocks in all the computers in the hospital back to 1990 (the last year in which every day had the same date.) In an effort to guarantee compliance, China Airlines has announced that all its senior executives have to be on China Airlines flights at midnight 12/31/99.
All the world's banks have derivatives obligations with one another in the BIS. As a result, it only takes ONE non-compliant bank in Sierra Leone or Indonesia to bring down the whole system. Similarly, all the world's airlines coordinate through the reservations systems. Connections could be a problem!
Prepare to be stunned.
Quasi-OMNI:
American banks and airlines are pretty well prepared, but their foreign counterparts are not. European banks have been busy preparing for the Euro, and many Asian banks don't have enough money to fix Y2K. Last night there was a spot on CNBC about a hospital in Taiwan that simply reset the clocks in all the computers in the hospital back to 1990 (the last year in which every day had the same date.) In an effort to guarantee compliance, China Airlines has announced that all its senior executives have to be on China Airlines flights at midnight 12/31/99.
All the world's banks have derivatives obligations with one another in the BIS. As a result, it only takes ONE non-compliant bank in Sierra Leone or Indonesia to bring down the whole system. Similarly, all the world's airlines coordinate through the reservations systems. Connections could be a problem!
Feb 5, 1999 | 1:55 pm
#11
Commander Catcop
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 10,259
That's a scarey thought HOng Kong Flyer if parts of one of the world's banking capital are not ready for Y2k.
But I'm sure most of the big systems are ready.
As for my bank... as long as my Christmas Club money doesn't get deleted! CATMAN
But I'm sure most of the big systems are ready.
As for my bank... as long as my Christmas Club money doesn't get deleted! CATMAN