Originally Posted by
ConciergeMike
73G would have had to sell to 120% or something like that, IIRC. 738 wasn't so much ETOPS as it was range in general. I remember Scott saying something about needing an airplane that could fly the mission every time, and the 738 didn't fit that statement, which is why they had to wait for the 73E.
I would make an uneducated guess that some headwinds across the pacific might make that leg an issue on the 737-800, a la the problems the 757-200 has on the TATL return to the US.