Originally Posted by 13901

EEE parts shortage is an industry-wide problem which will not be solved for a long, long, long, long (did I say long?) while. There's been a perfect storm of China's Covid policy closing off factories and ports; then a massive chip factory in Thailand flooded (basically a write-off); add on top the war in Ukraine and every producer becoming very skittish about possible military use of their equipment, and Xi's aggressive posture towards Taiwan and we have all the ingredients for a very long glut. In my past gig I saw lead times for EEE components jump from 20 to 50/60 weeks. Granted, it was radiation-hardened components for space applications, but it's not like aviation equipment is that common.

Regarding the 788s moving to Gatters, I'd be inclined to file that one under Galley FM rumours. 787-10s aren't suited for the sort of very long, and very thin, routes currently handled by the 788s. It's not just a case of not having bunks; the 78Xs haven't got the range 788s have and couldn't run the HND or EZE flights that you currently see the 788s do.

Looking ahead, the Gatwick 77Es will eventually need to be replaced and, frankly, I'm not too sure by what. They sit some 330 people, and normally fill them up too, so a 788 is a bit on the short side. Also, from a purely Engineering point of view, 787s might struggle in some of the smaller Caribbean flyspecks LGW serves (for instance, if a 787 has its APU broken, it requires something like 3 ground power units to start up. In places where the airport infrastructure is a tractor and an X-ray machine that might be a struggle). I don't know whether a decision has been made yet or not, but it's going to be one to watch.