Does Boeing have its eyes set on Wichita 2.0?

Boeing reportedly has its eye on a takeover. Or maybe we should call it a family reunion?

Bloomberg broke the news last week that Boeing is in talks to acquire Spirit AeroSystems — the same Spirit AeroSystems that used to be a division of Boeing.

Spirit builds fuselages for Boeing 737 Max jets, including the fuselage that experienced a blowout on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 from Portland in January.

"Ultimately, this is a relationship that needs to be rooted in the long term," said Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of The Air Current. "Boeing can't do anything without Spirit; Spirit can't do anything without Boeing. Neither can survive without each other."

Spirit was spun off from Boeing's divisions in Wichita and Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2005. After the spin-off, Spirit was free to score contracts from Boeing competitors like Airbus, Gulfstream, and Mitsubishi.

Fundamentally, Spirit still remained a Boeing supplier. But Ostrower said the interdependent relationship has been adversarial at times.

"There's ample evidence over the last [15 to 18 years] that these two have been fighting each other, and on everything from the cost of a 737 fuselage to how much does it cost to manufacture the 787," Ostrower said.

Some have pointed to the Boeing 737 Max fuselage blowout as being the most recent example of the fractured relationship between Boeing and Spirit.

Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDyanmic Advisory, said Boeing's management approach to suppliers should be examined as well. For years, management at Boeing has kept suppliers like Spirit at arm's length.

"More like a commodity — something to be squeezed under programs like 'Partnering for Success' or other Orwellian terms," Aboulafia said. "[Boeing] tried to extract whatever [they] can from them in the name of better returns."

From a business perspective, Boeing's acquisition of Spirit won't benefit the company in financial returns in the short term, Ostrower said. But it will help Boeing "regenerate."

“Fundamentally, what Boeing is going to get to enjoy for the first time in 19 years is just taking delivery of a product at cost to them — something that Airbus has been doing for for a while, that allows them to have a more open line of communication, a more open flow of people and more open flow of ideas."

Boeing may be working towards building a common ethos again, according to Ostrower. Now Boeing and Spirit can work together in terms of integrating digital technology, and collaborating on creating a quality product.

"It's not Boeing going in and fighting fires when something goes wrong in Spirit," Ostrower said.