The major U.S. airlines, which already have...

The major U.S. airlines, which already have slashed their schedules for today and New Year’s Day because of low passenger demand, said Thursday they were operating normally. “We’re ready for the rollover,” said Catherine Stengel, spokeswoman at Continental Airlines. The Houston-based airline has canceled one-quarter of its normal flights for tonight. Most of the carriers have cut their flying schedules by between 15% and 35% for the next 48 hours, owing to a sharp decline in demand for tickets. The airlines cite not only travelers’ concerns about the Y2K issue, but also consumers’ preference to stay near home to celebrate the holiday and because a sizable number of people are being required to work the next two days. “Travel demand for Friday evening and the following morning has just dropped off the table,” said Greg Witter, a spokesman at Alaska Airlines. Seattle-based Alaska, in fact, won’t be flying at all between 9 p.m. (PST) tonight and 9 a.m. New Year’s Day, he said.