Howard Hardee has worked as a writer, reporter, and editor for 15 years, most recently covering airlines and future flight technologies for FlightGlobal. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, he wrote about science, forestry, music, and local government for a variety of newspapers and magazines. Now, he oversees editorial content published by Leeham News and Analysis (LNA) and its contributing writers, taking special interest in airliner manufacturing, fleet strategies and real-world operations. His work has been recognized with several journalism and aviation industry awards, including a 2025 Aerospace Media Award for best breaking news coverage. He lives with his family in Northern California.

Leeham News and Analysis Editor

Howard Hardee

Cutting down on traveled work at Spirit AeroSystems's former facility in is critical for Boeing's efforts to reintegrate its newly acquired subsidiary and boost 737 Max production rates. The airframer maintains that it has made progress since closing the deal for Spirit in December 2025, and some Wichita workers have told Leeham News and Analysis (LNA) that the amount of traveled work occurring on the 737 line is effectively being reduced.
But there are indications that such work remains a challenge for 737 fuselage production line at the former Spirit plant. Workers on the line observed that traveled work still occurs on a large scale, often disrupting workflows.
Some employees described positive safety culture changes and improved communication from management at the Wichita facility. All acknowledged that reintegrating Spirit into Boeing's portfolio remains a work in progress.
Boeing leadership says the plan to reduce the amount of traveled work—or work performed at a different station on the production line than the one assigned—is showing early results. Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is working to boost monthly single-aisle production rates and turn around the broader company's ailing finances.
Last month, Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of supply chain and fabrication, told reporters that fuselages arriving by rail at Boeing's 737 final assembly line in Renton, Washington require less rework compared with fuselages delivered by the pre-acquisition Spirit facility. "Rework" describes work that must be corrected because it does not meet specifications; it can be related to but is distinct from traveled work.
“When you look at again going back to Wichita, or Spirit, from the moment we started this journey with them until today, we're looking at approximately 30% to 40% less rework on the 737 fuselage as it comes in here,” he said.
Mounir added that workers at the Spirit facility “know what they’re doing” and “just need the tools and the support.”
“Is it trouble-free? Absolutely not,” he said. “There's a lot of things that we need to work on together. There are a lot of improvements we need to work on together. We're doing that, but they're bringing a lot of value to the table.”
<h2>Reducing Traveled Work Key to Recovery&nbsp;</h2>
Traveled work is a symptom of a production system that is not running as smoothly as it could, often the end result of many minor disruptions rather than a single standalone defect. Work that must be completed at one station "travels" down the line to be completed at another. Some amount of traveled work is typical in most production systems but it becoming routine or systemic can be problematic.
Such work can be the result of supply chain issues, such as delayed parts deliveries or receiving nonconforming parts from vendors. Cabin configuration changes from airline customers, engineering design errors, and workmanship lapses on the assembly line can also contribute to traveled work.
Boeing’s path to returning to full production rates last reached before prior to the Covid-19 pandemic relies in part on reducing traveled work.
The 737 is Boeing’s high-volume airplane. Profits for BCA, and those of the parent company, largely ride on smooth-and-steady 737 production.
Quality lapses contributed to the January 2024 mid-flight door-plug blowout of a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9. Spirit installed the door incorrectly in Wichita, Kansas, and workers at Boeing’s Renton factory failed to reinstall four bolts that held the door in place on a track. The door worked loose over several flights, blowing out as the plane ascended from Portland, Oregon, through 14,000 feet. There were no serious injuries, and the pilots made a safe emergency landing in Portland.
Traveled work performed in Wichita and Renton was cited by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board as a contributing factor in the explosive depressurization of Alaska flight 1282.
<h2>Needs Work, Must Travel&nbsp;</h2>
According to Boeing, traveled work at its Renton plant, where most 737s are assembled, has been dramatically reduced since the door-plug blowout. It also says traveled work and quality control have improved at the Wichita factory, which produces 737 fuselages.
The facility was previously a Boeing factory known as Boeing Wichita. In 2005, it was sold to private interests and rebranded as Spirit AeroSystems. The company also supplied Airbus. It currently supplies some corporate jet producers and has a variety of defense work. But most of Spirit’s business comes from producing nose sections for Boeing’s commercial airplanes, including the 787 Dreamliner.
Spirit teetered on the verge of bankruptcy for several months. The problems were myriad: Boeing’s aircraft groundings, the airframer’s long, ongoing recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic, poorly constructed Airbus and Boeing contracts, and problems of its own making. Boeing repurchased the company to get a closer grip on its own production system, closing the transaction in December 2025. Spirit retains its name as a subsidiary of Boeing.
When the deal closed late last year, nobody expected Boeing to “fix” Spirit overnight. Rather, closing the deal started a long process of steadying 737 Max production, a critical step toward alleviating Boeing’s financial difficulties and resuming higher-margin aircraft deliveries.
Boeing has since unveiled a plan to invest $1 billion in its Wichita facility over the next three years, aiming to “expand employee training and strengthen the production system.”
The group says quality has improved at Boeing Wichita and traveled work there has been reduced. However, LNA&nbsp;has heard from line workers that traveled work remains an issue for the Wichita factory’s flow.
<h2>Traveled Work 'Just Awful'</h2>
Some Boeing workers in Wichita recently described to LNA a chaotic-feeling atmosphere related to traveled work, which can create conflicts further down the line. They described several mechanics attempting to complete different tasks in cramped 737 cockpits, and waiting for rework teams to finish their job before resuming their own. Fighting for space to complete their tasks, they said, is commonplace at Boeing Wichita's factory.
“They just want to keep pumping out planes," one said. "It's like, stop, fix the ones you’ve got, send them, and restart production. But no, traveled work here is just awful.”
Multiple Boeing workers expressed frustration with ongoing traveled work and pressure to push airframes onto the tarmac—and eventually on a train the Puget Sound area—as soon as possible.
<h2>Catching Defects Sooner&nbsp;</h2>
Boeing says that workers at its Wichita factory are effectively catching more defects earlier on the production line, which supports Mounir's statement that rework is down 30% to 40% once fuselages reach Renton. That has little bearing on how much traveled work still occurs in Wichita, however.
Asked to comment on efforts to reduce traveled work in Wichita, a Boeing spokesperson said that the company is making progress on its Safety and Quality Plan across its facilities.
“We are seeing progress in first-time quality and reduced traveled work, but we know this is a continuous improvement journey, and we are focused on strengthening training, simplifying processes and improving work instructions,” the spokesperson said.
In May, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg acknowledged the distance remaining between the company’s facilities in Renton and Wichita.
“We know there are pockets of either capital equipment or training that have not been invested in to the level they need to be,” he said. “Particularly focusing on our safety and quality plan that we've worked with the FAA [and] put in place in Renton, we really want to replicate that and get that solidified down in our Wichita facility.”
<h2>'Change Is Coming'&nbsp;</h2>
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how far Boeing has progressed toward replicating Renton’s safety and quality systems in Wichita, one worker told LNA.
"It is still so early in the transition," they said. "I feel like we won't truly be Boeing Wichita until January 1, 2027."
Broadly speaking, the worker believes positive changes are happening in the C-Suite and on the factory floor.
"What I see is that the change is coming, and I feel like it will be great for everyone," they said. "From what I see—and I see the numbers every day—change is happening. Are our numbers where we want them to be for quality? No. Are they getting better? Absolutely."
During the Spirit Aerosystems era, the worker said, "We were always playing defense, not offense."
"Now that the transition is there, eyes are open. We're saying, 'You know what? This company failed. We got taken over back to Boeing because of the failure, and it's going to have to change. So now, how do we be proactive? How do we play offense and stay ahead of the problems?"
The worker "definitely sees rework" regularly happening in the factory, pointing to the mass exodus of veteran mechanics who left during the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor contributing to defects introduced during production.
"There's a lot of rework, and that goes back to the new mechanics," they said. "Anytime you have a new mechanic, even a year into the job, they don't really know...the gist of the job. I mean, every day there is something to learn out there."
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