[dan_quixote]

One major difference I recall back when working in the industry is that Airbus didn't rely on contract manufacturing like Boeing adopted after the McDonnell Douglas merger. Spirit was just Boeing Wichita until they divested the operation only to immediately contract work with the new owner at a discount.

[hef19898]

The Boeing MDD merger was before my time. Airbus sure does rely on contract manufacture for everything from wings over fuselage sections to doors so. Often using the same suppliers Boeing does, the market for these tier 1 manufacturing suppliers is small.