Industrial policy and supply chains
2026-04-26
11 minute read
16 sources
Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems: Reintegration Under a 38 a Month Cap
The Alaska 1282 door plug, a 53 day machinist strike, an FAA production cap, and a 4.7 billion dollar Spirit reabsorption have reset Boeing's operating model. The 737 MAX return to 50 a month and the 787 climb out of Charleston now define commercial aerospace cash through 2027.
On 5 January 2024 the mid exit door plug on Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a 737 MAX 9 delivered eight weeks earlier, separated from the fuselage at 16,000 feet over Portland. The NTSB investigation traced the loss to four missing retention bolts at Boeing's Renton final assembly line, a fuselage built by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita and s...