New Service

[toddtravels]

I could not agree more... Hawaii??? four to six flights a day, c'mon stick those 757's to
Europe, SNN and GLA will have them next year but they can reach into mainland
europe too... I hope they do expand Europe shortly.. Are we an INTERNATIONAL airline
or just a Southwest.....????

If only it were that easy. The B757-200ERs US East has are not ETOPS. In order to be sent across the pond, ceiling rafts must be added. In addition, there must be FAA approval, which involves proving runs and mini-evacs and training and all sorts of things. It's not that easy. I am a furloughee from US and now I work as an instructor for a charter airline. We currently have ETOP 757-200ERs and it was a huge deal to get certified to fly transatlantic with them. :unsure:

 

[legacy-to-LCC]

If only it were that easy. The B757-200ERs US East has are not ETOPS. In order to be sent across the pond, ceiling rafts must be added. In addition, there must be FAA approval, which involves proving runs and mini-evacs and training and all sorts of things. It's not that easy. I am a furloughee from US and now I work as an instructor for a charter airline. We currently have ETOP 757-200ERs and it was a huge deal to get certified to fly transatlantic with them. :unsure:

toddtravels:
is the etops certification process destination specific? will the a/c being certified by us west for hawaii be elgible to cross the atlantic? if so, this process, according to super-doug, is well underway...
by the way, good luck with your instructor job (are they hiring? )

 

[MarkMyWords]

Isn't the process to certify an aircraft ETOPs capable much more involved then rafts and HF radios?

 

[BoeingBoy]

MMW,

It's my understanding that the aircraft itself isn't the problem, other than equipment like the rafts & radios - unless you're the first to attempt ETOPS certification on an existing airplane/engine combination. Given the required equipment, the 757 is ETOPS capable since others have already done the work - like CAL.

The other half the equation - the airline's procedures, maintenance, training, etc are where all the work is.

You have to remember that it's not just the airplane that's certified. It's the airplane/airline combination. For example, the A320 is being used in ETOPS operations and US East is doing ETOPS operations. But that doesn't mean we could just put the required equipment on some A320's and start using them for ETOPS. We'd have to go through a simplified version of what West has been doing - simplified because we have approved ETOPS procedures, maintenance programs, training, etc. We'd just have to apply them to the A320 and get the FAA's blessing.

Jim

 

[AIRWOMAN]

MMW,

It's my understanding that the aircraft itself isn't the problem, other than equipment like the rafts & radios - unless you're the first to attempt ETOPS certification on an existing airplane/engine combination. Given the required equipment, the 757 is ETOPS capable since others have already done the work - like CAL.

The other half the equation - the airline's procedures, maintenance, training, etc are where all the work is.

You have to remember that it's not just the airplane that's certified. It's the airplane/airline combination.

Jim

Very true.........there are now some old AWA/HP 757's that are ETOPS certified. Flights from PHX to Hawaii begin the middle of next month. It takes the airplanes, maintenance, training.......the entire airline to get the plane ETOPS certified.........the combination of all.

 

[MarkMyWords]

Isn't there a difference between an airplane being overwater capable and being ETOPs certified? 1/2 of the 757 fleet is equipped for overwater routes, does that mean that the airplane 1/2 of the equation is ETOPs certified? I swear I read somewhere that there was more to certifying an airplane ETOPs then rafts and HF radios. I thought there was something with the engines, generators, and a couple of other things. The memory is hazy though. :blink: