United to Move Up Late-Night Landings

Bowing to pressure, United Airlines said it would comply with a voluntary late-night curfew at Burbank Airport starting Dec. 15.

United is scheduled today to begin a flight from San Francisco that is due to land at Burbank Airport six nights weekly at about 11:15 p.m.

But in a letter received by Burbank Airport officials Monday, United officials said they would move up the arrival time to 10:55 p.m. beginning Dec. 15.

Airline officials further pledged to change the arrival time to 9:47 p.m. by Jan. 8.

“As part of our ongoing evaluation of flight schedules, United has reviewed this schedule change,” wrote Alan B. Wayne, regional public affairs director for the airline.

Burbank Airport has a voluntary curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., due to residents’ concerns about aircraft noise.

United’s move comes after Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills), Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) wrote a joint letter asking United’s chairman and chief executive, James E. Goodwin, to cancel the late-night flight.

The political leaders were later joined by Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale), who called for a six-month moratorium on after-curfew flights by United into Burbank Airport, saying the scheduling decision could cause the airline public relations problems.

Earlier this month, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority asked United to reconsider scheduling the after-curfew flight. Burbank Airport spokesman Victor Gill applauded United’s move.

“Certainly, this process has served to emphasize the sensitivity that all of us hope the airlines bring to any consideration of nighttime activity.” Gill said.