Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) have in recent weeks chartered one of the world's largest cargo planes to speed up shipments of aerostructures for some civil and military aircraft, a sign of lingering strains in the aerospace supply chain.
The Antonov An-124, a giant four-engine transport aircraft, has been chartered to airlift parts for Europe's A350 jetliner and the Boeing 767 airframe used for freighters or tankers, following a similar flight carrying parts for the 777 freighter earlier this year, according to three industry sources and two regulatory filings.
A Boeing spokesperson said it used "a variety of transportation methods to maintain stability in our production," without commenting directly on the An-124.
An Airbus spokesperson said "we sometimes use the Antonov," without saying whether this included the A350, its main wide-body jet that has been affected by delivery delays.
The recent use of the An-124, detailed in this story for the first time, underscores pressure on manufacturers to keep assembly lines fresh and tackle pockets of delays that threaten a broad recovery in production schedules.
Planemakers rely on dedicated sea freight, trucking networks and fleets of converted cargo jets to move large parts between production sites. Changing from one mode of transport to another adds cost and indicates that buffer stocks are scarce.
Analysts say aerospace supply chains have improved since the COVID-19 pandemic with overall deliveries rising this year, but that there are lingering concerns about the health of the aerostructures industry as well as other parts like seats.
GIANT PLANE SPEEDS UP PARTS DELIVERIES
Two industry sources said Airbus's decision to fly A350 parts rather than send them by sea reflected some deterioration at a former Spirit AeroSystems plant in Kinston, North Carolina, which Airbus took over last December as part of a joint breakup of the supplier with rival Boeing.
At that time, parts were moving by sea and there was a buffer stock of four sets of parts, one of the sources said. Now air freight is needed to avoid new delays, the source added.
"Regarding Kinston, we are making progress towards separation from the previous owner and integration into the Airbus landscape. However it remains a complex multi-year journey to complete," the Airbus spokesperson said.
Airbus said in a pre-results briefing to analysts on Wednesday that it had not changed its assumptions on the drag to 2026 profits from the cost of absorbing the Spirit facilities.
According to U.S. filings, Boeing chartered the same Antonov in late June to transport two upper fuselage sections from a Daher Aerospace factory in Florida that would normally be transported by land to its plant in Everett outside Seattle.
The parts were "urgently required for the production of the 767," Boeing wrote in a June 22 letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation reviewed by Reuters, requesting to use the An-124 between U.S. cities.
"Those delays would impose a significant economic cost if not avoided," it added.
On July 1, Boeing wrote another letter supporting an exemption for Antonov to transport a similar Daher-made part.
Daher declined comment on operational matters.
The 767 airframe is no longer in production as a passenger jet but is used to build US refueling tankers and is in the final stages of production as a commercial freighter.
