Stonecipher Says Sale Isn't Imminent

Boeing Co. chief executive Harry Stonecipher tried to reassure workers in Kansas after rumors of an imminent sale of the company's Wichita facility surfaced last week. Boeing's top executive, however, refuses to commit to owning the Wichita facility permanently. In conversations with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and four members of the Kansas congressional delegation, he didn't say a sale of the Boeing Wichita facility would never happen. Stonecipher arrived in Wichita on Tuesday night after two separate conference calls with Kansas political leaders earlier in the day. The calls were hastily arranged after a report in the Seattle Times on Sunday described a Boeing planning document that explores a sale of its Wichita plant.

Paine Field May Open To Commercial Traffic

Those Seattle-area residents who loathe flying out of Seattle-Tacoma International airport (SEATAC) may soon have another option for their flying adventures. Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Mill Creek, introduced legislation Monday in Olympia (WA) to fund a feasibility study on opening Paine Field in Everett to commercial air traffic, an idea that has been kicking around in the region for a few years. The $100,000 study would examine the possibility of building a new $20 million terminal at Paine Field, the first step toward bringing commercial airliners to the field. Schmidt said opening Paine Field to commercial flights would save Snohomish County travelers time and money. Paine Field, built in 1936, was intended to be

U.S. to Start Mandatory Airline Background Checks Soon

Homeland Security officials say a government plan to check all airline passengers' backgrounds before they board a plane could be fully implemented by this summer. However, the decision to launch the controversial system could bring the feds a lot of flack from air travelers.   The new security procedure -- called The Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, or CAPPS II -- seems to be so urgent for the government to implement that it will continue to order airlines to provide background information on their customers to test the program, Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson said Monday. This could add fire to a program, which has already plagued those carriers who agreed to test