Latin America earns high marks for recognising the year 2000 problem, but how fast that will turn into results remains uncertain.
'I see no reason why Latin America cannot address the Y2K issue as fast as any other part of the world,' says Thomas Windmuller, who heads the world-wide awareness programme being carried out by the International Air Transport Association. It is difficult to say, however, whether Latin America is in fact on track until the results are collated from Iata's global survey into compliance efforts.
The region's carriers are working closely with Iata on Y2K solutions, assures Ernesto Vasquez Rocha, executive director of the Latin American Association of International Airlines (Aital). He says that 'great consideration' has been given to the issue, but that concerns linger over whether the industry started the process soon enough.
'The truth is that so far we have not done anything in relation to the potential problems there may be with the computers for the year 2000,' admits Ernesto Rois-Mendez, president of the Latin American Aeronautical Association. 'However, this is a subject of interest to us and we are anxious to learn more about it.'
Julian Sevillano, Miami-based consultant to a number of Latin carriers, fears some airline managers have downplayed Y2K as no more than a 'technical problem.' At the same time, 'top management is worrying with survival issues', he adds.
Most Latin carriers have now formed special units to address Y2K issues and assigned specialists to head them up. Mexico's Taesa began in January, Aces Colombia in February and Lan Chile in May. All seem confident of completing their work before 2000. The approach varies with each airline's circumstances, however. Many which own or operate their own software are trying to handle the job by themselves. Taesa's 20 inhouse programmers have scanned 90 per cent of its programmes in the past six months. In contrast, Aces, which leases most of its software, has retained Unisys to ensure that its software suppliers meet the deadline.
Aces' Y2K department has a broader objective 'to adapt all the company' s systems, both IT and non-IT, for the year 2000, and manage the relationship with our suppliers in case they do not solve the problem before the year 2000', says its head, Beatriz Eugenia Jaramillo. Carriers which use software supplied by organisations like Sita expect them to make their programmes compliant, or to help the airline to do so. According to Miguel Troncoso, who leads Lan Chile' s Y2K project, 'from the end of July we will have available special facilities to test the different [Sita] systems and services.'
Latin carriers closely aligned with other airlines may be able to piggy-back on the efforts of larger partners. Varig is working closely with its Star Alliance partners, especially United, on screening and fixing its software. But, says one source, the work is going 'very slowly'.
A special concern for all of the Brazilian carriers is whether their telephones will still work after the millennium as Y2K compliance competes with the privatisation of telecommunications.
The Y2K bug may bring one unexpected benefit. Several airlines are using the occasion to replace old systems, rather than fix them. Aces, for instance, plans to replace internal information systems relating to financial and human resources. Taesa is replacing about 20 applications, including financial accounting, operations management and aircraft maintenance programmes. Airlines such as Avianca and Aeromexico, which have fairly new systems, will simply upgrade what they have.
The question is whether Latin American airlines like Taesa can fix all the problems in the next 12 months, and whether they have allowed enough time for testing and correcting last minute bugs.
Source: Airline Business
