City Council approves second five‑year tax exemption for Air Capital Flight Line (Spirit AeroSystems tenant)

The Wichita City Council on Oct. 7 approved a second five‑year extension of a 10‑year, 100% property tax exemption granted initially in 2018 to Air Capital Flight Line LLC, a development subleased to Spirit AeroSystems.

City staff told the council the project entailed roughly $18 million in capital investment and included a prior commitment to create 320 full‑time jobs averaging about $54,500 annually. Troy Anderson, assistant city manager, said Spirit exceeded wage targets but fell short of the original job‑creation benchmark after a string of industry shocks: the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, the COVID‑19 pandemic and later production slowdowns. Anderson recommended approval under the city’s economic‑development guidelines, which allow temporary adjustments after a federally declared disaster or a documented downturn.

Sam Sackett, a Spirit representative, thanked the council for local support and introduced Damon Ward, Spirit’s vice president and chief controller, who described the site expansion and hiring plans. “This facility is critical to enabling production rates for the 737 and 767 programs,” Ward said, and added that Spirit’s headcount had recovered to meet and, in some months, exceed target levels.

Council members pressed staff on the company’s performance metrics and the financial tradeoffs of a continued exemption. Public commenters questioned the size of the revenue foregone and urged that Spirit report median wages and turnover rates in future compliance updates. City staff cited analysis showing the project’s return on investment even under reduced job assumptions and noted that approval of the exemption is entirely discretionary.

By roll call, the council approved the second five‑year exemption 7–0. Legal staff and the city’s economic‑development team will monitor compliance and conditions outlined in the incentive agreement.