Newsstand - SJC overhauls curfew restrictions

SJC adjusted its curfew restrictions to ban aircraft based upon noise instead of maximum gross takeoff weight.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6969905.htm

I wonder what aircraft currently flying into / out of SJC meet the 89db specification, and if there will be any increased commercial service as a result. Although the residents of the Rosegarden district might disagree, I'd certainly enjoy not having to drive to SFO or OAK for a midnight departure.

Does this mean that Larry Ellison finally got his way? I have no idea how loud his plane is but I believe he regularly broke the curfew and just paid the fine.

This seems to be getting quite a lot of coverage on the news here. Heard it on the tv last night, and on radio this morning. However, what I haven't heard is what the impact will be. What kind of planes fall under the decibal limit? And therefore, what planes will be able to fly at night? Are we just talking small planes like Ellison's?

News coverage always leaves a lot to be wanted.

I was scheduled two weeks ago on a DL redeye flight SJC-ATL. It was scheduled out at 10:10pm but was delayed 4.5 hours and didn't leave SJC until almost 3am. Now I am curious, was Delta given a waiver to break the curfew, or did they just pay the fine?.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by xyzzy:
Does this mean that Larry Ellison finally got his way? I have no idea how loud his plane is but I believe he regularly broke the curfew and just paid the fine.</font>

"Ellison successfully argued that his private Gulfstream V jet, which weighed more than 75,000 pounds, was quieter than many non-commercial aircraft that were exempt from the curfew, known as Stage 3 aircraft."

Larry never "paid" his fine he just let them pile up. In the end, SJC was forced to recind his fines and pay his legal costs.

I wonder why these curfews don't distinguish between landings and takeoffs. Obviously a departure makes a lot more noise than an arrival.

A photo on the linked page shows a Reno Air jet alongside an AA plane. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FWAAA:
A photo on the linked page shows a Reno Air jet alongside an AA plane. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif</font>

I just noticed that http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I wonder if the person who took the time to write the caption even knows Reno doesn't exist any more.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Ellison successfully argued that his private Gulfstream V jet, which weighed more than 75,000 pounds, was quieter than many non-commercial aircraft that were exempt from the curfew, known as Stage 3 aircraft.</font>

Although I think Ellison is a slimy, spoiled brat - I think he had a beef here. His plane was not more than 75,000lbs (despite the error in the story). His plane had a maximum rated takeoff weight of more than 75,000 pounds. Of course, if he were going to fly that thing to Hong Kong or wherever, he might actually take on enough fuel to go over that amount. Most of the time, he was well under it.

It's probably just a stock AA photo, not even related to SJC.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by xyzzy:
It's probably just a stock AA photo, not even related to SJC.</font>

Maybe so, but the caption reads:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">On the North end of the S.J. Airport near Terminal "A", an American Airline flight arrives while a Reno air flight departs.</font>

My guess is that neither the caption writer nor the editor (sometimes one and the same) are frequent flyers (at least not on AA). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif