Lufthansa Cargo will begin equipping all its Boeing 777 freighters with AeroSHARK technology starting 2023. The innovative surface technology from Lufthansa Technik and BASF improves fuel efficiency and reduces emissions.
The first Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777 freighter modified with AeroSHARK, with registration D-ALFA, took off for the first time at 5:07 (CET) on February 3, 2023. With flight number LH8410, the B777F departed from Frankfurt (FRA) to Bengaluru (BLR), from where it will fly to Chengdu (CTU).
SWISS becomes world’s first passenger airline to use AeroSHARK technology
AeroSHARK is a surface coating that imitates the microscopic structure of shark skin. Its structure is formed by grooves of about 50 micrometers, called riblets. If the flow pattern on the fuselage and engine nacelles of the Boeing 777F is optimized in this way, a significant fuel savings can be achieved and, therefore, emissions reduced.
Lufthansa Cargo has a fleet of 11 Boeing 777s, while its subsidiary AeroLogic has another 21 aircraft.
According to the company, Lufthansa Technik expects a fuel saving slightly above 1% for the modified Boeing 777F. Extrapolated to the entire Lufthansa Cargo 777 fleet, this will result in an annual savings of over 4,000 metric tons of fuel and almost 13,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to about 53 individual cargo flights from Frankfurt to Shanghai.
«We are proud to be able to operate our entire freighter fleet even more efficiently in the future thanks to the Sharkskin technology and further reduce the carbon footprint of our modern fleet. Our investments for the introduction of AeroSHARK bring us closer to our goal of being 100% CO2-neutral in the air by 2050; on the ground, we would like to achieve this goal by 2030,» explains Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.
SWISS will apply the innovative AeroSHARK coating on its aircraft to reduce emissions on its flights
In collaboration with BASF, Lufthansa Technik is responsible for specifying the material, aircraft certification and executing the modifications to the aircraft, which are carried out during periodic maintenance stops. In December of last year, the company received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to modify the 777s.
The STC issued by EASA now allows Lufthansa Technik to apply the nature-inspired riblet films in series to any Boeing 777-300ER and 777F aircraft.
