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Boeing Commercial Airplanes GroupMarketingP.O. Box 3707Seattle, WA 98124-2207
www.boeing.com
Printed in U.S.A.257279.1 1/2000
ETOPS Explained
The rule is simple
“…extended range operations are those flights conducted over a route that contains a point furtherthan one hour flying time at theapproved one-engine inoperativecruise speed (under standard conditions in still air) from an adequate airport.”
Adequate alternate airports are plentiful—and seldom used
Part of the ETOPS rule requires that an airplane beable to reach an “adequate airport” if a diversion or turn-back becomes necessary. But, in reality, adequate alter-nate airports must be available for all airplanes, whetherthey are quads or twins, or fly over land or water.
To qualify under airline and regulatory requirements,alternate airports must have adequate facilities to handleboth the airplane and its passengers. The many airportsdesignated as alternates are conveniently located world-wide for the best coverage. If one airport is closed forsome reason, another is easily within reach. Even themore northerly airports have almost no chance of closing
All long-range airplanes benefit
“ETOPS is, in my opinion, one of two programs inrecent times that has significantly improved aviation safety.”
— Anthony J. Broderick
FAA Associate Administrator
For Regulation and Certification, 1990
Under ETOPS, long-range travel on all commercial jets,not just twins, has become safer and more reliable.
The ETOPS rule and associated regulations mandaterigorous operations and maintenance guidelines for theengines, airframe, and systems of twin-engine airplanes.Some operators have extended the same guidelines to theirquads, significantly improving their reliability and loweringtheir maintenance costs.
A well-known engine manufacturer has also seen thebenefits of applying the stringent ETOPS guidelines toquads. Rolls-Royce plans to test the Trent 500 for the A340-500/-600 and the Trent 900 for the A3XX to ETOPSrequirements despite the fact that both airplanes are quadsand therefore not technically subject to ETOPS.
Following the ETOPS guidelines just makes good business sense.
0
300
1,200
1,500
900
600
Twins
Quads
Tris
19871985 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999
Twins Have Changed the North Atlantic MarketUnited States to Europe weekly nonstops*
*Includes all airlines, OAG data through February 1999
Twins Are Very ReliableSchedule reliability, %
97.5
98.0
99.0
98.5
99.5
777
767
747
A340
July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May1998 1999
Jun
Fewer Engines Mean Fewer Diversions and TurnbacksAir turnbacks and diversions per one million departures
Twins737, 757, 767, and 777
Quads747
34%
0
100
200
300
400
18%
Other
Engine related
210
172
240
Other
Engine related
363
simultaneously because of bad weather. Interestinglyenough, weather conditions in the North Pacific andNorth Atlantic are similar throughout the year.
In any case, twins very rarely divert to an alternateairport, and when they do, passengers spend little timethere. Quads have a greater rate of diversions and turnbacks.
Propulsion-related diversions, by the way, are veryrare. The rigorous ETOPS guidelines promote engine —and airplane — reliability with great success.
ETOPS is a routine procedure
The numbers say it all: Worldwide, a great many majorcarriers fly ETOPS-certified airplanes — 88 operateBoeing airplanes and 39, Airbus. Through September1999, there have been 24,600 ETOPS flights a monthand a total of 1,590,000 flights since the 767 pioneeredETOPS. These figures are just for the 737, 757, 767, and777. Airbus models A300/A310 and A330 have accumulated 260,000 ETOPS flights as of May 1999. That is a grand total of almost 2,000,000 flights sinceETOPS was implemented. Any practice that common must be routine — and safe.
OutboundInboundOutboundInbound
Los Angeles–London5,107 nmi
ShannonShannonReykjavikReykjavik
Iqaluit
Winnipeg
Minneapolis
Churchill
New YorkNew York
Chicago
Gander
Halifax
Goose BayGoose Bay
Kangerlussuaq
Iqaluit
Winnipeg
Minneapolis
Churchill
New York
Chicago
Gander
Halifax
Goose Bay
Kangerlussuaq
SeattleSeattle
Anchorage
CalgaryEdmonton
YellowknifeKing SalmonKing Salmon
Fairbanks
Denver
Los AngelesLos Angeles
Anchorage
CalgaryEdmonton
YellowknifeKing Salmon
Fairbanks
Denver
Los Angeles
Shemya Is.Shemya Is.
Cold Bay
Duluth
San FranciscoSan Francisco
Nome
PetropavlovskAnadyr
Magadan
Quebec
Shemya Is.
Cold Bay
Nome
PetropavlovskAnadyr
Magadan
Quebec
Sapporo
Honolulu
Midway IslandMidway IslandWake IslandWake Island
Tokyo
Honolulu
Midway IslandWake Island
Tokyo
Hong KongHong KongHong Kong
Los Angeles–Tokyo4,875 nmi
Los Angeles–Tokyo4,875 nmi
GuangzhouGuangzhou
LondonLos Angeles–London5,107 nmi
London
Duluth
San Francisco
Sapporo
North Atlantic and North Pacific Operations Are Similar
North Pacific alternates:• Trip distances, number of alternate airports, and airport conditions
similar to North Atlantic• Surveyed by Boeing, airlines, and regulatory authorities• Only one of these alternates is required for 180-minute ETOPS operation.• The probability of simultaneous closure of all these airports
because of weather-related causes is almost 0%.• All provide acceptable accommodations
Airport Min Avg MaxTemperatures °F (°C)
Airport Min Avg MaxTemperatures °F (°C)
North AtlanticIqaluit -50 (-46) 15 (-9) 77 (25)Kangerlussuaq -51 (-46) 22 (-6) 75 (24)Reykjavik -4 (-20) 41 (5) 75 (24)Shannon 18 (-8) 51 (11) 88 (31)Yellowknife -54 (-48) 24 (-4) 90 (32)
North PacificAnadyr - 45 (-43) 19 (-7) 82 (28)Anchorage -34 (-37) 36 (2) 85 (29)Cold Bay -13 (-25) 39 (4) 77 (25)King Salmon -48 (-44) 34 (1) 88 (31)Magadan -22 (-8) 27 (-3) 75 (24)Petropavlovsk -13 (-25) 37 (3) 81 (27)
Boeing Twins Routinely Fly ETOPS Routes
6,278 flights per month
(Pacific region)
15,533 flightsper month
(Atlantic region)
An additional 2,843 ETOPS flights per month are flown in Asia, Africa, and other regions.
Boeing data, September 1999