Once you’re qualified, can you stay qualified as long as you want? Even if going to a non ETOPS base ? I know it is one more day on DAL

I think you'll need to go through ET recurrent ever 24 months, but if you are not in an EBG during your training month they won't put you though recurrent and you'll lose the qual. Either they need to change that policy or you'd need to move into an EBG for the month. The 6-month lock is only triggered by the initial sim training...I don't believe the recurrent event triggers another lock.

The qual is good for 3 years.

I'm hoping that in the next contract it's fixed so that once you have the qual you can attend the extra day of recurrent every three years and keep it.

I was thinking it was already this way , it would benefit the company and that is how they like to roll .

Looking at OAK as a base, and word on the street is that it is an ETOPS only base.

What are the pros/cons of being an ETOPS crew member?

Thanks for the replies.

If you want OAK, you'll be trained to fly ETOPS, period. If it's not your bottom bid as an FO, you'll be locked for 6 months for the initial qual. If that's where you live or want to be, then this ETOPS bid group (EBG) lock is meaningless.

Pros and cons? The more senior you get, the more you'll see OGG vs. STL, but you will be trained.

Pros; etops flying is way more stable, fewer schedule disruptions and you're flying mostly the newer fleet...no clapped out -700s over there; AMs get easier as you head west
Cons: ... domestic flying first or last day and still potential for reroutes? Hawaii is expensive? None that outway the pros in my opinion

If you're junior, ETOPS is great. If you're more senior than, say, late 2016 hire, then oh no ETOPS sucks stay as far away as possible don't even try you'll hate it and it's better everywhere else.

Seriously. Everyone senior to me hates ETOPS and they're here only because their Mom said they had to dress nice and get up early to be "successful". If you're senior to me, LGA reserves would be better than LAX, no question about it.

why would the senior guys hate ETOPS?

I think it is tongue in cheek to keep people senior to them from bidding ETOPS.