So many people showed up today to apply for jobs at the Puyallup Fair, that many were asked to come back on Thursday.

Interviewing for 3,000 jobs started at 8:30 a.m. and by mid morning at least that many were in line, according to a news release sent by the fair.

"Due to the inability to process that many applicants in one day, many of those people who showed up were asked to return tomorrow. Fair officials cut off the line at a location where WorkSource Employment Office staff could process those applicants today," the release said.

Interviewing will resume again on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the WorkSource Employment Office on the north side of the facility.

Seasonal jobs are available in a variety of departments such as food service, retail sales, game and booth operators, barn workers and much more. Wages begin at $8.55 per hour, with some paying more based on duties and skills required.

To qualify, prospective employees must be at least 16 years old and be able to provide picture ID as well as proof of legal right to work, such as a social security card or alien registration card. The Fair will not accept applicants by phone or e-mail.

If Southwest Airlines is successful Thursday with its $170-million bid for Denver's Frontier Airlines, the shift in ownership could bring changes to the competitive balance among airlines in the Pacific Northwest.

Buying Frontier, for instance, would give Southwest access to new cities from Denver that it has never served before.

Of particular significance is Anchorage, Alaska Airline's second busiest hub. The Denver connection would allow residents of Alaska's largest city to connect in what could become Southwest's largest hub with some 250 flights a day rather than taking Alaska to Seattle to connect with flight to the East and Midwest. Southwest would also enter 14 other cities where it never as flown before including Atlanta and Washington Reagan National Airport.

Airline analysts are also speculating that when Southwest disposes of Frontier's 40 relatively new Airbus jets and substitutes Boeing 737s, a logical buyer would be San Francisco's Virgin America. Virgin America has emerged as a new West Coast competitor for United and Alaska. Access to a reasonably priced fleet of new aircraft would allow Virgin to expanded its network significantly at a reasonable price.

Virgin America already flies Airbuses, so the planes would be compatible with its existing fleet.

Boeing has delivered a first C-17 transport aircraft to a customer in the Mideast.

Qatar Emini Air Force Tuesday accepted delivery of the first of two of the four-engine transport aircraft it has on order.

The country may order two more of the transports after it checks out the first aircraft, Boeing said.

Boeing is counting on sales to customers outside the United States to keep its Long Beach, Calif. assembly line going as U.S. Air Force orders wind down.

The United Kingdom has C-17s in service, and an alliance of European countries has ordered C-17s that they will operate on a shared basis.

Boeing could be the beneficiary of Airbus' woes with its delayed A-400M transport. If European governments decide to cancel the program, already three years behind schedule and billions of Euros over budget, their transport needs could be met by a combination of Boeing C-17s and Lockheed C-130 transports.

The Long Beach C-17 assembly line is the last major aircraft assembly line in California, a state that once was the hub of American aircraft manufacturing.

SeaTac's Alaska Airlines is reshuffling its fall schedule looking for new opportunities for traffic especially where other airlines are cutting back.

The latest: new service from Portland to Chicago announced today. That service will complement Alaska's existing service from Seattle and Anchorage to Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

For readers closer to Portland than to Sea-Tac, the opening of the new route comes with introductory goodies: $99 one-way fares and double frequent flier miles for flights from the first day of the service, Nov. 16 through Jan. 31, 2010. To qualify for double miles, you must register for them at alaskaair.com. The introductory fares are available through Aug. 31.