Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia \u2013 The world\u2019s two aerospace giants, Airbus\nand Boeing, have reportedly been forced to charter one of the largest\ncargo aircraft in the world, the Antonov An-124, in recent weeks. The\nemergency step was taken to speed up the delivery of aerostructures for\nseveral of their civil and military aircraft variants. The unusual\ndecision is a clear indication of the continuing pressure and tension in\nthe global aerospace supply chain.<\/p>\n
Quoting a Reuters report on Thursday (16\/07\/2026), the four-engine\nheavy transport aircraft was chartered to fly Airbus A350 fuselage\ncomponents and Boeing 767 airframes used as cargo aircraft or military\ntankers. The use of this extremely expensive air freight option reflects\nthe immense pressure faced by manufacturers to keep assembly lines\nrunning and to overcome bottlenecks that threaten the recovery of their\nmass production schedules.<\/p>\n
Aircraft manufacturers normally rely on specialised sea transport,\ntrucking networks or conventional cargo aircraft fleets. The sudden\nswitch in transport mode will therefore certainly add to ballooning\ncosts and signals that buffer stocks of components have become extremely\nscarce.<\/p>\n
Boeing adopted a diplomatic stance when asked about the use of the\ngiant Ukrainian cargo aircraft. Meanwhile, Airbus confirmed that in\ncertain situations it had indeed used the services of the\nmassive-capacity commercial aircraft in order to maintain its\nmanufacturing rhythm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use a variety of transportation methods to maintain stability in\nour production,\u201d a Boeing spokesperson said, without directly commenting\non the use of the Antonov An-124 jet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sometimes use the Antonov,\u201d an Airbus spokesperson said, without\nspecifying whether the flights included carrying components of the A350\njet, their main wide-body product currently affected by delivery\ndelays.<\/p>\n
Giant Aircraft Speed Up Component Deliveries<\/p>\n
Airbus\u2019s decision to fly A350 spare parts rather than ship them by\nsea was triggered by declining production performance at the former\nSpirit AeroSystems plant in Kinston, North Carolina. The plant was taken\nover by Airbus last December as part of a corporate action to break up\nthe supplier, together with its rival Boeing.<\/p>\n
When the plant still belonged to its previous owner, components moved\nby sea because buffer stocks of four sets of spare parts were available.\nNow, however, air transport is urgently needed to avoid more severe new\ndelays.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding Kinston, we are making progress towards separation from\nthe previous owner and integration into the Airbus landscape. However,\nthis remains a complex multi-year journey to complete,\u201d the Airbus\nspokesperson said regarding the complicated situation at its US\ncomponent plant.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Boeing was recorded as chartering the same Antonov jet in\nlate June to transport two upper fuselage sections from the Daher\nAerospace plant in Florida to its assembly facility in Everett, Seattle.\nThe giant-sized components are normally delivered by road, but had to be\nflown because of the urgency of their military and cargo jet production\nlines, which must not be halted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe components were urgently needed for 767 production. The delay\nwould have resulted in significant economic costs if not avoided,\u201d\nBoeing management wrote in an official letter dated 22 June to the US\nDepartment of Transportation, requesting a dispensation permit to use\nthe foreign Antonov An-124 aircraft in domestic territory.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/airbus-and-boeing-forced-to-unite-in-chartering-worlds-largest-cargo-plane-1784209956", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }