The company characterized a potential “reintegration” of Spirit as a way to improve safety and quality.
Spirit AeroSystems became a separate entity in 2005 after the spinoff. But Spirit and Boeing remain intertwined, with Spirit manufacturing about 70 percent of each 737 Max before it is sent to Boeing’s Renton, Wash., factory for final assembly.
Even before the Alaska Air blowout in January, Spirit was struggling with problems that delayed deliveries of 737 Max aircraft, including a labor dispute in June in which manufacturing employees walked off the job for a week before a new contract was reached. In October, Spirit brought in former Boeing executive Pat Shanahan to be its new CEO.
As part of its stepped-up oversight after the Alaska Airlines accident, the Federal Aviation Administration has sent additional inspectors to Boeing and Spirit factories. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker this week gave Boeing a 90-day deadline to come up with a comprehensive plan to improve quality control, vowing to hold the company accountable “every step of the way.”
Bringing Spirit back under the Boeing umbrella could help assuage regulators, said Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory.
“It would do a lot to de-risk their supply chain and would look proactive in the minds of regulators,” Aboulafia said. However, he added that a deal would be “enormously complicated” because Spirit also manufactures parts for Boeing rival Airbus.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Alaska Air blowout found that bolts meant to hold the door plug in place were installed by Spirit at its Wichita factory before being shipped by train for final assembly at Boeing’s Renton factory. The door plug was removed at the Boeing facility so that other fixes could be made to the fuselage. However, a photo shared by Boeing employees after the door plug was removed shows three of four key bolts missing, with a fourth not visible.
Spirit had a market capitalization of about $3.3 billion before the Wall Street Journal first reported on a potential sale. Shares of Spirit were up more than 15 percent Friday on the news. Boeing shares fell more than 1 percent.