Spirit Aerosystems

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

While aerospace and defense companies have lately enjoyed an embarrassment of riches in demand, that has exposed severe weaknesses in their ability to execute.

The two-decade experiment known as Spirit AeroSystems is set for a dramatic and rocky close.

As fixed-price deals signed years ago continue to burden balance sheets, Boeing Defense and Space is focusing on smart growth opportunities.

Boeing is adding requirements for moving aircraft down production lines and new traveled work protocols.

Do Airbus and Boeing’s aerostructures reintegrations represent a trend, anomalies or both?

Guillaume Faury is looking to bring more work in-house in order to deal with supplier issues.

Tasked with boosting both production rates and aircraft quality, Boeing is making long-needed changes to its decades-old production protocols.

As demand remains healthy, airlines are managing capacity challenges amid supply chain woes, engine issues and significant aircraft delivery delays.

As Boeing plans to acquire the majority of Spirit AeroSystems, with some parts carved out by Airbus, change is coming to the supplier's aftermarket business.

Spirit plans to divest of its Belfast operations as it works to carve up its worldwide operations amid a $8.3 billion transaction with Boeing and Airbus.

Editors unpack a week that started with a unique media briefing at Boeing's Renton facility and ended with the purchase of Spirit AeroSystems.

Spirit AeroSystems is known mainly as a major supplier to the commercial aircraft assembly lines of Boeing and Airbus.

But much like the Spirit deal’s closing, Boeing’s transition, assuming it comes at all, will not happen overnight.

Boeing announced it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Spirit AeroSystems early July 1 which values the supplier at $4.7 billion.

A new plan focuses on tracking airplane production basics as key to addressing issues and eventually increasing production.

Despite strong demand for new commercial aircraft, supply chain woes are forcing Airbus to delay rate targets and may make it sell parts of the space business.

Boeing developed the plan in response to an FAA 737 production audit and an expert panel’s report on Boeing’s organizational safety.

This week’s personnel movements include changes at Spirit AeroSystems and Spirit Airlines—as well as at LCCs in Canada and Oman and a top cargo industry lessor.

Meanwhile, the Spirit board has tapped one of its own, Irene Esteves, to take over while the company tries to sell itself to Airbus and/or Boeing.

The FAA’s increased inspections, audits and production limit put in place at Boeing following January’s 737-9 door plug panel blowout will remain in place.

The manufacturer’s key targets for 737 and 787 production remain in place, but mounting problems in the short run will not spare its balance sheet.

Now CEO of Hexcel, Tom Gentile has been reflecting on his time at the helm of troubled aerostructures giant Spirit AeroSystems.

The Wichita company pledged to conduct the layoffs “in as compassionate a manner as possible.”

Boeing’s planned acquisition of supplier Spirit AeroSystems has raised some concerns on Capitol Hill and among major defense companies.