Originally Posted by flyboy777

ETOPS is an acronym for Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards, an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rule permitting twin-engined commercial air transports to fly routes that, at some points, are farther than a distance of 60 minutes flying time from an emergency or diversion airport with one engine inoperative. ETOPS is also known in the air transport industry by the tongue-in-cheek backronym Engines Turn or Passengers Swim.

This rule allows twin-engined airliners—such as the Airbus A300, A310, A320, A330 and A350 families, and the Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777 and 787 and Tupolev Tu-204 —to fly long distance routes that were previously off-limits to twin-engined aircraft. Contrary to popular/mistaken belief, ETOPS operation has no direct correlation to water, nor distance over water. It refers strictly to single-engine flight times between suitable diversion airfields; regardless as to whether such fields are separated by water, deserts, polar expanses, recurrent (i.e. night-time) airport closures, etc.

ETOPS may be replaced by a newer system, referred to as LROPS, an acronym for Long Range Operational Performance Standards, which will affect all civil airliners, not merely those with a twin-engine configuration. Government-owned aircraft (including military) do not have to adhere to ETOPS. Until the mid-1980's, the term EROPS (extended range operations) was used before being superseded by ETOPS usage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETOPS

B777s & A330s were the first aircraft to be designed as ETOPS out of the box, eg. the were certificated from the very begining. Airbus A320 family aircraft could get this certificate easily as (I think) it's awarded based upon a number of hours without engine shutdowns. Hawaii will need about 180 minutes given that it's a 6 hour overwater flight...