Footnotes/references Financials as of December31,2023[update]. References:[1]
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. The company produces fuselage sections for Boeing's 737 and 787 aircraft, as well as the flight deck sections for a majority of Boeing airliners. Spirit also supplies Airbus with fuselage sections and front wing spars for the A350 and wings for the A220. Spirit's primary competitors in the aerostructures market include Collins Aerospace, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Leonardo, and Triumph Group.
Spirit AeroSystems was established in 2005 when Boeing spun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. Boeing entered into an agreement to re-acquire Spirit in July 2024 for $4.7 billion. Airbus will assume control of Spirit's European operations, which have faced financial challenges.
History
Wichita plant as seen in 2005, just before Spirit Aerosystems took control
Spirit was originally formed as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems when Boeing sold its Wichita factory along with facilities in Tulsa and McAlester to the investment firm Onex Corporation in June 2005 for US$900 million in cash and the assumption of $300 million in debt, a total of $1.2 billion in enterprise value.[2][3] The company was renamed Spirit AeroSystems a few months later.[2] The sale was part of a larger effort of Boeing to divest itself of assets,[4] in pursuit of increased return on net assets, a metric focused on by CEO Harry Stonecipher, who had come from McDonnell Douglas.[5]
The Wichita plant was originally founded as Stearman Aircraft in 1927 before being acquired by the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929. Following the breakup of UATC in 1934, the plant was retained by Boeing and became the Wichita division of the Boeing Airplane Company in 1941. The Wichita division was responsible for the construction of several models of strategic bomber aircraft including the B-29 Superfortress, B-47 Stratojet, and B-52 Stratofortress.[6] The Wichita factory primarily builds fuselage sections, including 70% of the structure for the Boeing737.[2]
The Tulsa plant was originally opened as a Douglas Aircraft Company facility to build bombers and other aircraft during World War II. When the war ended, Douglas mothballed the plant until 1953 when it reopened to assemble the B-47 StratoJet and the B-66 Destroyer. North American Aviation moved into about a third of the facility in 1962. The Tulsa plant builds wings and components for Boeing aircraft.[7]
The McAlester factory opened in 1964 as North American Aviation facility, supported the company's Apollo capsule and B-1B Bomber projects, primarily focusing on machining operations in support of the Tulsa factory.[8]
Over time North American and Douglas would both become part of Boeing, which took control of both Oklahoma factories in 1996. Operationally, they were wrapped into the Wichita division. However, Boeing long expressed interest in selling the Oklahoma factories. When they were spun-off to Spirit, again talks were held about selling the Oklahoma plants.[7] However, nothing came of these talks. In 2020, Spirit announced it would close its McAlester plant, moving work to Tulsa and Wichita.[8]
Under Onex ownership, Spirit's mandate was to build a portfolio of business with customers other than Boeing. In January 31, 2006, BAE Systems announced it had agreed to sell its aerostructures business, based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Samlesbury Aerodrome, to Spirit.[9] The unit is a major supplier to Airbus (80%), Boeing (15%) and Raytheon (5%). The transaction was completed on April 1, 2006. Spirit paid £80,000,000(equivalent to £150,877,479 in 2023) for the business.[10] In 2009, Spirit opened a plant in Subang, Malaysia out of a need for expansion and to take pressure off the Prestwick facility.[11] Spirit opened a composites manufacturing facility in Kinston, North Carolina on July 1, 2010, to build sections of the Airbus A350.[12] Those sections are then sent to another Spirit plant in Saint-Nazaire, France, where they are partially assembled before being sent on to Airbus in Toulouse for final assembly.[13] During this time, Spirit also won the contract to win the contract to build the wings for the Gulfstream G280 and G650.[2]
Onex sold its final shares of Spirit in 2014 and at that time it has made $3.2 billion on its ownership of the company.[2][14]
On October 31, 2019, Spirit acquired Bombardier Aviation's aerostructures activities and aftermarket services operations in Belfast (a former Short Brothers plant) and Casablanca, with the acquisition completing a year later in October 2020.[15] The deal gives Spirit a bigger place in Airbus' supply chain as the Belfast plant produces the wings for the Airbus A220, while the Casablanca factory produces the mid-fuselage for the A220.[16]
In February 2020, Spirit acquired Fiber Materials Inc., a company which specializes in making high-temperature materials and composites, primarily for the defense and space industry, operating out of facilities in Biddeford, Maine and Woonsocket, Rhode Island.[17][18] In July 2021, the company purchased Applied Aerodynamics, an aerostructures maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Dallas.[19]
After years of losses and quality control problems at Spirit, Boeing started talks to re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems in March 2024. At the time, both Boeing and Spirit faced intense scrutiny after an uncontrolled decompression on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, that occurred when a door plug (a structure installed to replace an optional emergency exit door) on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, which was not bolted in place due to a manufacturing error, blew out.[20]
After months of talks, Boeing agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems in an all-stock transaction, worth $4.7 billion in equity value and $8.3 billion in enterprise value when including the assumption of Spirit's debt. As part of the deal, Airbus agreed to take over Spirit's unprofitable European operations, receiving $559 million in compensation from Spirit. The deal is expected to close in mid-2025, pending regulatory approval.[21][22]
As part of the deal, Boeing will take ownership of the Wichita and Tulsa plants it previously operated, along with the MRO facility in Dallas. Airbus will take over the facilities in Casablanca, Kinston and St. Nazaire, along with A220 production assets in Belfast. Spirit also plans to divest its operations Subang and Prestwick, along with Fiber Materials, and non-Airbus operations in Belfast.[23]
Business
In 2010, 96% of Spirit's revenue came from its two largest customers: 85% of sales were from Boeing, 11% from Airbus.[24]
After planning to take Spirit public,[25] at initial public offering on November 21, 2006, the firm's stock rose 10% on the first day.[26] In November 2006, Onex owned 58% of Spirit, which resulted in 92% of voting power, as its shares conferred "supervoting" power.[26] The chief architect of the Onex purchase of Spirit was Nigel S. Wright, who was later Chief of Staff for the Canadian Prime Minister until his resignation as part of an expense scandal. In August 2014 the Onex Group sold all of its remaining shares of Spirit. Over the course of the nine-year investment, the Onex Group received aggregate proceeds of approximately $3.2 billion on its initial $375 million investment.[27]
Products
The Boeing 737 fuselage, built at Wichita's Spirit AeroSystems, being shipped to final assembly in the Seattle, Washington area.
Spirit's initial and continuing role has primarily been the manufacture of the Boeing737fuselage, and other components. As well as the nose and forward-cabin sections of most Boeing jetliners. The Boeing sub-assemblies are mostly built at Spirit's former Boeing-Wichita factory complex, near its headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. Spirit also manufactures major fuselage and/or wing sub-assemblies for current Airbus jetliners, mostly in its Tulsa, Oklahoma factory.[28][29][30]
Spirit also manufactures parts and sub-assemblies for various other aircraft manufacturers at various sites in the United States and the United Kingdom—including the fuselages of the Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter. It also produces or adapts various other defense-related aerospace products for other manufacturers.[28][30][31]
In December 2023, an employee of Spirit AeroSystems filled out a class action in federal court against the company, alleging that former employees repeatedly warned about safety problems and were told to cover up systematic quality control failures, undercount defects, records falsification and retaliation against employees raising safety concerns.[32]
On January 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced a midair emergency when a door plug blew out causing an uncontrolled decompression of the aircraft.[33] The fuselage and door plug are manufactured and initially assembled by Spirit AeroSystems, then shipped by train for final assembly at the Boeing Renton Factory.[34]
Related Research Articles
Bombardier Inc. is a Canadian business jet manufacturer. Headquartered in Montreal, the company was founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier to market his snowmobiles and became one of the world's biggest producers of aircraft and trains.
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry.
Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CSeries. It also manufactured the Bombardier 415 amphibious water-bomber, and currently makes the Global Express and the Challenger lines of business jets.
airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere and a seasonal base in Las Palmas launched in 2023. It is 97% owned by the government of Latvia. It operates flights solely on Airbus A220 planes. It operates a frequent-flyer program and a buy on board menu offering food and drinks for purchase.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is a division of the Boeing Company. It designs, assembles, markets, and sells commercial aircraft, including the 737, 767, 777, and 787, along with freighter and business jet variants of most. The division employs nearly 35,000 people, many working at the company's division headquarters in Renton, Washington or at more than a dozen engineering, manufacturing, and assembly facilities, notably the Everett Factory and Renton Factory, and the South Carolina Factory.
de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd (DHA) was an Australian subsidiary of the British aircraft manufacturer de Havilland, founded in 1927. It acquired the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in 1985 and was purchased by Boeing in 2000 and merged with the Boeing owned AeroSpace Technologies of Australia to become Hawker de Havilland Aerospace Pty Ltd. In 2009, the name was changed to Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA) and is a subsidiary of Boeing Australia Ltd.
The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP). It was originally developed by Bombardier Aviation and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launched on 13 July 2008. The smaller A220-100 first flew on 16 September 2013, received an initial type certificate from Transport Canada on 18 December 2015, and entered service on 15 July 2016 with launch operator Swiss Global Air Lines. The longer A220-300 first flew on 27 February 2015, received an initial type certificate on 11 July 2016, and entered service with airBaltic on 14 December 2016. Both launch operators recorded better-than-expected fuel burn and dispatch reliability, as well as positive feedback from passengers and crew.
The Boeing Renton Factory is the Boeing Company's manufacturing facility for narrow-body commercial airliners, and their military derivatives. Production includes the Boeing 737 MAX passenger airliner and the Boeing P-8 Poseidon military patrol aircraft. The factory covers 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of floor space. The factory lies adjacent to Renton Municipal Airport.
The competition between Airbus and Boeing has been characterized as a duopoly in the large jet airliner market since the 1990s.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer established on 11 May 2008 in Shanghai. The headquarters are in Pudong, Shanghai. The company has a registered capital of RMB 19 billion. The corporation is a designer and constructor of large passenger aircraft with capacities of over 150 passengers.
As of September 2024, the Delta Air Lines fleet consists of 991 mainline aircraft, making it the largest commercial airline fleet in the world. Delta Air Lines operates a fleet manufactured by Airbus and Boeing.
Premium AEROTEC is a German aerospace manufacturing business, headquartered in Augsburg in Germany. It is a subsidiary of Airbus.
The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with the Airbus A320neo family. The series was announced in August 2011, first flown in January 2016, and certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March 2017. The first 737 MAX delivered to a customer was a MAX 8 to Malindo Air, which accepted and began operating the aircraft in May 2017.
The history of Wichita details the history of Wichita, Kansas from its initial settlement in the 1860s to the present day.
Stelia Aerospace is an aerospace company headquartered in Toulouse, France. It specializes in designing and manufacture of aerostructures, pilot seats and premium class passenger seats, mainly for the commercial aviation sector.
The Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility is an assembly site for Airbus's Commercial Airplanes division, located at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The plant is an assembly and delivery site for Airbus commercial aircraft in the United States and one of the largest employment centers in the state. The site is one of four final assembly and delivery points for the Airbus A320neo family and one of two final assembly and delivery points for the Airbus A220.
On 28 April 2016, Bombardier Aerospace, a division of Bombardier Inc., recorded a firm order from Delta Air Lines for 75 CSeries CS100s plus 50 options. On 27 April 2017, The Boeing Company filed a petition for dumping them at $19.6m each, below their $33.2m production cost. On the same day, both Bombardier and the government of Canada rejected Boeing's claim, vowing to mount a "vigorous defence".
This is a list of aviation-related events in 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
US$1,813 million (2023)
US$(512.8) million (2023)
