Originally Posted by
chermorg
Looking at the past few days of the IAH-SYD flight, it actually does fly a little bit north of the GC route - flying near to that "point" of ETOPS-180 restricted area that LAX-AKL almost crosses. It's obviously not necessary it take this route as the 787 is rated for ETOPS-330, and I presume that United would've certified its planes and crew with at least ETOPS-240 so it could fly the GC route or slightly south. That being said, it's possible I guess that United did not pursue higher than ETOPS-180 certification and that is the reason for the northerly flight path of that flight. Or maybe they're taking more caution than is necessary.
ETOPS has two components: airframe rating and carrier certification. The GENx 787 obtained 330-minute ETOPS rating about four years ago, after Boeing was able to demonstrate achievement of certain reliability thresholds and inflight shutdown (IFSD) rates with the fleet of in-service 787s. The other component is carrier certification, which is granted for each successive ETOPS level based on FAA review of the carrier's operational specifications and ETOPS history.
UA is now in the process of obtaining 330-minute ETOPS certification, which should take several months. This is expressly for IAHSYD, which will permit a more direct routing and avoid weight restrictions necessary for the diversion around the existing ETOPS 'hole' in the mid-Pacific. Even with the UA1175 incident, UA has such extensive ETOPS flying that it won't materially impact United's IFSD rate. As such is virtually assured United will get the desired certification.