Boeing Barges Into Aircraft-Seat Business in Threat to Suppliers

  • Planemaker joins forces with auto-industry supplier Adient
  • New venture poses threat to Zodiac Aerospace, Rockwell Collins

Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

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Fed up with delays that have plagued production of luxurious jetliner cabins, Boeing Co. is forming its own company with a major seat supplier to the auto industry.

The joint venture with Adient Plc will be based near Frankfurt, Germany, along with a technology center and an initial production plant, the companies said in a statementBloomberg Terminal Tuesday. It will market seats to airlines and leasing companies that are ordering new planes and retrofitting older ones.