Spirit AeroSystems Celebrates A350 XWB Delivery to Qatar Airways

News provided by

Dec 22, 2014, 11:26 ET

WICHITA, Kan., Dec. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (NYSE: SPR) today celebrated with Airbus and Qatar Airways the first delivery of an A350 XWB to an airline customer.

"Spirit is extremely proud to be on board the A350 XWB program as a long-term partner with Airbus," said John Pilla, senior vice president, Airbus Programs. "Congratulations to Airbus and Qatar Airways on this important milestone for the future of air travel and the A350 XWB."

Spirit has design and build responsibilities on the A350 XWB that include the center fuselage and wing components. Spirit builds the composite center fuselage at its facility in Kinston, N.C., and then ships the segment to its facility in Saint-Nazaire, France, for assembly prior to delivering to Airbus. The wing components Spirit is responsible for include the front spar and fixed leading edge.

"Today we celebrate with Airbus and Qatar Airways as we recognize our talented employees," said Pilla. "Our employees are focused and dedicated to delivering a quality product to meet our customer's expectations. The technologies incorporated into the A350 XWB are shaping the future of air travel, and we are thrilled to be a partner with Airbus on this program."

Spirit employs about 16,000 worldwide designing and building complex aerostructures on the world's most recognizable airplanes.

On the web: www.spiritaero.com
On Twitter: @SpiritAero

About Spirit AeroSystems Inc.
Spirit AeroSystems, with headquarters in Wichita, Kan., USA, is one of the world's largest non-OEM designers and manufacturers of aerostructures for commercial aircraft. In addition to its Wichita and Chanute facilities in Kansas, Spirit has locations in Tulsa and McAlester, Okla.; Kinston, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; Prestwick, Scotland; Preston, England; Subang, Malaysia; and Saint-Nazaire, France. In the U.S., Spirit's core products include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components. Additionally, Spirit provides aftermarket customer support services, including spare parts, maintenance/repair/overhaul, and fleet support services in North America, Europe and Asia. Spirit Europe produces wing components for a host of customers, including Airbus.