Over the past 18 months, SWISS has equipped its entire fleet of Boeing 777-300ER long-haul aircraft with the latest AeroSHARK technology. The AeroSHARK film, applied to the fuselage and engine nacelles, mimics the hydrodynamic properties of sharkskin to reduce air resistance, thereby reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
The 12 Boeing 777-300ERs are the first fleet of aircraft to be fully AeroSHARK-equipped. SWISS began installing this new technology in October 2022, with the latest aircraft, the HB-JNF, receiving its AeroSHARK film earlier this May.
With its micrometric «ripples» aligned with the direction of airflow, the film simulates sharkskin, decreasing air resistance in flight by approximately 1%. As a result, the AeroSHARK technology reduced SWISS’ kerosene consumption by more than 2,200 tons last year, lowering the airline’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 7,100 tons.
«We are very pleased with the results achieved to date with AeroSHARK. We are also proud to be the first airline in the world to equip an entire fleet of aircraft with this innovative technology. The application of the AeroSHARK film to each aircraft takes approximately one week, which requires high-precision work by our staff. I am delighted that our commitment to this technology is yielding such positive results and enables us at SWISS to take another substantial step towards making our flight operations more sustainable,» said Claus Bauer, Head of Technical Fleet Management at SWISS.
The AeroSHARK technology was developed jointly by Lufthansa Technik and coatings manufacturer BASF. In the medium term, SWISS is considering expanding the AeroSHARK application program to other aircraft types in its long-haul fleet.
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