HALCYON SPRINGS, Florida (CNM) -- Airlines say they are confident their computers will handle the date change, but many travelers apparently are not. Bookings for flights departing on December 31 are down as much as 60 percent from a normal holiday weekend.
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| Many New Year's Eve flights are half empty |
Several carriers have consolidated flights, and some are offering round-trip fares as low as $79 for travel on New Year's Eve. One airline is advertising "the first flight of the millennium," departing Halcyon Springs at 12:01 a.m., with champagne and a pilot who has "personally checked the clock."
"Our planes are ready," said a spokeswoman for Coastal Skyways. "Our pilots are ready. We just need passengers who are ready."
Aviation officials plan to have senior executives aboard flights in the air at midnight, a gesture intended to reassure the public. "If I'm up there, it's safe," said one executive. "Also, I get the window seat."
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