United Airlines’ 6,500 pilots were notified yesterday that the airline intends to furlough about 950 of them by the end of 2009 as a result of plans to reduce the fleet by 100 aircraft to cope with surging oil prices, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Keith Rimer, the airline’s system chief pilot, said that because of the number of pilots on military and personal leaves, furlough notices will be sent to more than 1,400 of the airline’s least-senior pilots in order to cut the active roster by 950. The Air Line Pilots Association union is working with the company on ways to mitigate the number of involuntary furloughs.