Spokane airport chief named to Gov. Inslee’s airplane council

Larry Krauter, chief executive of Spokane International Airport, has been named to Gov. Jay Inslee’s Choose Washington New Middle-Market Airplane Council.

The council is leading the statewide effort to position Washington as the preferred location for design, production and assembly of an all-new aircraft under study by Boeing.

Boeing unveiled an image of the middle-market plane at the 2017 Paris Air Show. With room for 220 to 270 passengers and travel distances of 5,200 nautical miles, the plane would fill a niche for Boeing.

The new plane would travel longer distances than the company’s 737 airliners, which are designed for short to medium-length flights. But it would be less costly to operate than the 787 Dreamliner, which is intended for long-haul travel.

If Boeing’s middle-market plane is built in Washington, local manufactures would likely benefit.

The Spokane area is the United States’ fifth-largest aerospace cluster, with over 120 companies involved in aspects in the aerospace industry.