Starting December, Austrian Airlines will become the first airline to equip its Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with the innovative AeroSHARK surface film, a technology designed to reduce fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions. This initiative is projected to save the airline approximately 8,300 metric tons of CO2 over the next four years.
The AeroSHARK technology, developed collaboratively by Lufthansa Technik and German chemical giant BASF, features microstructured ‘riblets’ that are just 50 micrometers thick, mimicking the friction-reducing properties of sharkskin. By applying about 830 square meters of this film to the fuselage and engine nacelles of each Boeing 777-200ER, Austrian Airlines expects to achieve a one percent reduction in fuel consumption per flight.
Lufthansa Technik, which has already equipped 17 aircraft within the Lufthansa Group with AeroSHARK— including a Lufthansa Airlines 747-400, 12 SWISS 777-300ERs, and four Lufthansa Cargo 777Fs—hailed the technology’s expansion to Austrian Airlines as significant. “This is great news for other operators of the type,” said Harald Gloy, Lufthansa Technik’s Chief Operating Officer.
While a one percent improvement in fuel efficiency may seem modest, the cumulative effect is substantial, particularly on long-haul routes, according to Austrian Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer Francesco Sciortino. “Even though our Boeing 777-200ERs are nearing the end of their service life, this investment brings us closer to our CO2 reduction goals,” he stated.
The retrofit of Austrian Airlines’ 777-200ERs will be carried out incrementally, with the modification expected to be completed by March 2025.
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