Boeing to scrap high-speed Sonic Cruiser - reports = = = = Thursday December 19, 1:33 PM EST = SEATTLE, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA) has decided to scrap plans fo= r a sleek-looking, high-speed jetliner in favor of a more conventional pl= ane that promises more fuel efficiency and lower costs for airlines, news= papers reported on Thursday. The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer said Boeing executives h= ad determined that there was not enough demand to justify developing the = Sonic Cruiser, a futuristic jet that would fly about 20 percent faster th= an the current commercial fleet. Instead Boeing will focus on using lightweight materials and other next-g= eneration technologies to develop a more fuel-efficient jet, the newspape= rs said. A spokesman for Boeing in Seattle had no comment on the reports. = But Alan Mulally, Boeing's commercial jet chief, was scheduled to speak i= n Seattle on Friday at a year-end press luncheon, and many industry obser= vers expect that he will use the occasion to confirm that the Sonic Cruis= er has been shelved. In recent months, Boeing executives have said that they were weighing com= peting designs for the next mid-size airliner. Boeing announced the Sonic Cruiser program in March 2001, but the Seattle= newspapers said the more recent financial pressure on airlines, which ar= e losing billions in the wake of the travel slump exacerbated by the Sept= =2E 11 hijack attacks, forced a revision of those plans. Boeing has not developed an all-new airplane since 1995, when it launched= the 777. The new mid-size airliner is scheduled for availability by 2008= =2E = =A92002 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS