STORY:
Virgin Atlantic Won't Fly On New Year's Eve

Virgin Atlantic Airways said Friday it will ground its 25-plane fleet on New Year's Eve -- to give its employees a special night off, not because of any concern that computers will malfunction due to Y2K problems.

According to an AP story appearing on CNN interactive, Virgin Atlantic's mass cancellation is the first such action taken by an international carrier. A British regional carrier, Jersey European Airways, has said it won't fly on January 1 to give its employees time to celebrate.

"On the night itself, our passengers themselves were telling us they would rather be with their loved ones than in a 747 over the Atlantic. Our employees agreed," said Virgin spokesman Paul Moore.

Virgin Atlantic flies to London from New York, Washington, Orlando, Florida, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It also serves Tokyo, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Athens, Greece.

The airline does not plan to start any new flights on December 31, only let those in the air land that day. It will resume service on January 1, based on its normal schedule.

It is unclear how much the grounding will cost Virgin Atlantic. Its entire fleet is either Boeing 747s or Airbus A-340 widebodies; the 747s alone cost about $150 million each. Airlines usually are loath to keep such expensive hardware out of service for any length of time.

Source: AP / CNN

DATE: 5/05/99

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