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Spirit Aero makes parts for Airbus A350 and A220 jets

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Parts availability for A350 fuselage section seen at risk

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Some wings shipped by air to A220 plant, sources say

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Airbus plans to buy two Spirit plants as part of carve-up

with

Boeing ( BA )

By Tim Hepher and Allison Lampert

PARIS/MONTREAL, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Airbus is

facing concerns over supplies of key structural parts for its

largest and smallest jets from Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ), part

of a cascade of supply chain problems challenging growth in

deliveries, several industry sources said.

The problems mean airlines face a growing prospect of delays

in deliveries of some jets including the long-haul A350 next

year given long lead times for parts, two of the sources said,

prompting the planemaker to deploy extra resources to keep them

moving.

Data issued on Wednesday showed Airbus needs to boost total

deliveries by 11% in the fourth quarter to reach a target of 770

jets for the full year. Some analysts have lowered their

forecasts towards 750 or 760 planes.

Spirit mainly supplies Boeing ( BA ), which is in the

process of buying back its former subsidiary. But Airbus also

relies on the company for major parts for its A350 twin-aisle

and A220 single-aisle jets.

The sources, who were not authorised to speak publicly about

the matter, cited concerns over the production of fuselage parts

built in Spirit's Kinston plant in North Carolina. Separately,

Airbus has intervened to speed up the supply of wings for the

smaller A220 by airlifting parts from the supplier's factory in

Belfast, Northern Ireland, they said.

In July, Airbus agreed to take on the two loss-making plants

as Boeing ( BA ) moved to buy back the rest of Spirit to stem a growing

industrial crisis following the mid-air blowout of a door plug.

Spirit said its production remained on track. "We are

delivering Airbus product based on our customer's schedule,"

spokesperson Joe Buccino said.

An industry source familiar with the matter said recent

problems include production of composite stringer clips that are

used to attach supporting parts. Buccino said this activity had

"not impacted deliveries to Airbus' final production line".

Airbus has also put employees into the Kinston plant to

monitor performance, the sources said. Buccino said the presence

of Airbus staff was part of a longstanding joint improvement

program and did not indicate new or urgent production issues.

Airbus said Spirit was on its radar along with other

suppliers.

"We have indicated multiple times that we are facing

challenges with the supply chain, particularly in

aerostructures, and Spirit is part of that," a spokesperson

said. Airbus is working hard to meet targets and is boosting its

presence at suppliers "where it is most needed", the

spokesperson added.

SPECIAL FLIGHTS

In the latest sign of stress to supply chains, reports have

emerged of rare movements of one of the world's largest cargo

planes, an Antonov An-124, which sources said had been used to

ferry wings for the A220 by air rather than sea.

Quebec media TVA Nouvelles said the plane flew on Sept. 14

to Quebec City where it attracted crowds on its way to a plant

outside Montreal, where the Canadian-designed A220 is built.

According to planefinder.net the plane has been tracked

flying from Belfast, where Spirit constructs A220 wings, to

Montreal three times since mid-September.

A source at the A220 factory said the costly freighter had

been deployed to help keep production moving. It was not

immediately clear how many trips had been made in total.

Spirit confirmed an unspecified number of flights, citing "a

substantial increase" in A220 production. An Airbus spokesperson

said the measure was designed to anticipate production needs.

Airbus Chief Financial Officer Thomas Toepfer told analysts

in July that it was facing supply problems, mainly with engines

and landing gear, but analysts have voiced concerns that

problems are rippling to other critical parts of the supply

chain.

"Our greatest concern here is that what Airbus needs to do

is not just fix one supplier situation, but multiple ones,"

Bernstein analysts said.