Hollywood-Burbank Airport is About to Enter the 21st Century

You’ve seen this place in countless movies and television programs. It was where fictional aeronautical engineer and father of three boys, Steve Douglas (Actor Fred Mac Murray) worked in the popular 1960s sitcom “My Three Sons” on CBS. Steve Douglas would have been employed by Lockheed, which designed and built aircraft here for decades – the mighty Constellation, the Electra, and even the SR-71 spy plane. Lockheed did it all right here at Burbank Airport.

Hollywood-Burbank Airport opened in 1930 as “United Airport” before it became the Union Air Terminal in 1934. The name eventually changed to Lockheed Air Terminal. In the post-war years, Burbank Airport became Hollywood-Burbank Airport, which it was for decades, then, Glendale-Pasadena-Burbank Airport. The name changed again to “Bob Hope Airport” for a short time before returning to “Hollywood-Burbank Airport” recently.

Apparently, the esteemed actor and comedian Bob Hope fell from grace amid complicated Burbank Airport politics.

Confused? So am I…

In 1930, flying was an exciting new phenomenon enjoyed by the few and the wealthy. No better place for it to gain notoriety than the entertainment capital – Hollywood, California.

Burbank, California is a small town in a large metropolis – Los Angeles. It just feels like a small town with all of the dynamics of a small town. Yet, most of the movie studios are here along with a large portion of the television industry. Most of the sitcoms you see on television are shot on a sound stage in Burbank. I’ve had a number of friends who live in Burbank. It feels good to hang out at their Burbank homes and take in the cuisine in any of the city’s many delicatessens.

Burbank is a feel-good place – a throwback in time.

You never know who you’re going to see on the streets of Burbank. Outsiders perceive there’s a celebrity on every street corner, however, this has never been true. I have a friend who lives in Toluca Lake within the City of Burbank. His neighborhood has been home to Bob Hope, Paul Henning, and a host of other celebrities. Actress Swoozie Kurtz (Joyce Flynn) of “Mike & Molly” lives right next door.

You get the idea.

Celebrities and the rank and file live together peacefully and respectfully in a place like Burbank. It is not uncommon to be in a restaurant or shopping mall and see a celebrity. Locals know to leave celebrities alone to live and eat in peace.

Honestly…I’ve never understood autograph seekers.

I’ve been living in the Los Angeles area for 30 years. I arrived here for the first time in September of 1990 to join Petersen Publishing Company, which was founded by the late Robert Petersen in 1948. Petersen founded Hot Rod Magazine out of the trunk of an old jalopy. “Pete” Petersen could never have known the empire he was creating in the car capital of the United States. Los Angeles has always been about personal transportation – cruising down the freeway in something to be seen in or something so beat up and pathetic that it blends.

Last month, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (BGPAA) broke ground on a new, safer, modern, and more convenient passenger terminal at Hollywood-Burbank Airport. They’re calling this effort “Elevate BUR.” More than 300 community leaders and stakeholders turned out for this event to celebrate the launch of construction. This has been an event that has been coming for years. False starts, politics, a battle of wits. At last, it is here.

“From the friendly staff, to the airlines, to the convenience, Hollywood Burbank Airport is the gem of this community,” said Felicia Williams, President of the BGPAA, “We have a great team of Airport Commissioners with backgrounds in finance, law, construction, and public service, who are dedicated to moving this project forward on time and on budget.” And so the transformation begins.

The new state-of-the-art Burbank Airport terminal will offer a wide variety of features ranging from shopping and dining, upgraded restrooms, and more space. A new ticketing lobby, baggage screening system, updated TSA checkpoint and new baggage claim area will, in theory, make traveling easier.

The motivation to build the new terminal has always been about safety more than anything. Because BUR was opened in 1930, it is a dated design originally erected for dope and fabric biplanes, not jets. Runway 8-22 runs literally right past the terminal while 15-33 is longer and is some distance away. When you’re sitting in the gate area, the loud roar of thrust reverse is too close for comfort. Startled passengers look up with a “WTH!” look on their faces.

Though this has never happened, the thought of a jetliner leaving runway 8-22 and winding up in the middle of a 94-year-old terminal building is unsettling. Some years back, a Southwest Boeing 737-300 overshot Runway 8 and wound up in the middle of Hollywood Way just missing a gas station.

Following Sherman Way down across the San Fernando Valley on a long final for Runway 8 always leaves a knot in your stomach because you have just barely 6,000 feet to stop before turning left into the gate. The longer a jet lingers over the concrete before touchdown, the more on edge we become.

The big message from the BGPAA is safety and convenience. These folks tell us the design of the new terminal includes greater distance between both airport runways and the terminal building. What’s more, this effort also includes updates to meet current earthquake standards and ADA accessibility standards. For passengers, they’re including a 45,900-square-foot aircraft parking area for boarding and deplaning, a new parking structure with EV charging, and a new on-airport access road for convenience.

With all this excitement comes a lot of sadness. Because I have been traveling through Hollywood-Burbank Airport for more than 30 years, the existing terminal has become an old familiar friend. Access has always been easy from the ticket counter to security to the gate. Like any good old-fashioned airport in the land of perpetual sunshine, Burbank still continues to board planes via airstairs where passengers can get a good close look at the airframe about to carry them away. This is a lost custom we will all have to get used to.

I will long miss the feel of sun, rain, and wind on my face.