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