Spirit AeroSystems Occupies an Increasingly Untenable Position Between OEM and Supplier

Spirit AeroSystems is the largest independent aerostructures manufacturer. The firm produces fuselages, wing structures, and structures that house and connect engines to aircraft. Spirit’s revenue has traditionally been almost entirely connected to the original production of commercial aircraft, but Spirit has a growing military aircraft segment and acquired parts of Bombardier's commercial jet business in 2020. Spirit's interim CEO since October 2023, Pat Shanahan, recently stated, "only the OEM can unlock that value" of the manufacturing intellectual property and highly integrated supply chain of large aerostructures production that Spirit offers, which amounted to a pitch for selling the company to Boeing and carving off other parts related to Airbus, which now owns the A220 line pioneered by Bombardier.