Boeing, which previously owned Spirit, said it is bringing the supplier back into the Boeing fold to improve plane quality and safety, which has come under increasing scrutiny.

Boeing announced plans to acquire key supplier Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion, a move that it says will improve plane quality and safety amid increasing scrutiny by Congress, airlines and the Department of Justice.

Boeing previously owned Spirit, and the purchase would reverse a longtime Boeing strategy of outsourcing key work on its passenger planes. That approach has been criticized as problems at Spirit disrupted production and delivery of popular Boeing jetliners including 737s and 787s.

“We believe this deal is in the best interest of the flying public, our airline customers, the employees of Spirit and Boeing, our shareholders and the country more broadly,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement late Sunday.

  • Aphelion
    171·
    3 days ago

    Vertical integration with a supplier that used to be part of Boeing helps make it safer. The whole problem is Boeing has moved further and further away from their suppliers, to the point they don’t pay them up front for development, and they’re literally making their contractors fight each other to come up with the cheapest possible parts.

    Anything that moves the needle back the other way is good, but they still have a long way to go.

    • sunzu@kbin.run
      2·
      3 days ago

      I don’t have issue with vertical integration per se esp in aviation industry but let’s be real Boeing under current leadership will abuse monopoly power. This is who they are! They have show in 69 times already lol

      • Aphelion
        2·
        3 days ago

        Yeah, totally agree, they have become a monopoly, which I think is part of the problem that led them cutting corners and de-integrating their supply chain.