Over the past one and a half years, SWISS has equipped its entire Boeing 777-300ER fleet with sharkskin technology from Lufthansa Technik and BASF. The AeroSHARK surface film mimics the flow-optimizing characteristics of sharkskin. Applied to the fuselage and engine nacelles it reduces drag during the flight. This promotes lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. All twelve modified Boeing 777 aircraft have been in service with SWISS since this month. It is the first time that an entire Boeing long haul fleet of an airline has been optimized with the new technology.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has fitted all of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with the fuel-saving technology since the world’s first AeroSHARK scheduled flight in October 2022. AeroSHARK recreates the drag-reducing features of sharkskin. Thanks to the special surface structure, which consists of about 50 micrometers fine riblets, the aerodynamics of the aircraft are optimized and the drag during the flight is reduced by about one percent. Therefore, less fuel is required, and emissions are reduced. With its gradually upgraded fleet, SWISS was already able to save over 2,200 tons of kerosene and around 7,100 metric tons of CO₂ in 2023. The last remaining aircraft with the registration HB-JNF was fitted with AeroSHARK at the beginning of May 2024 ‒ meaning that all SWISS Boeing 777s are now modified with this innovative technology.

"We are very pleased with the results that we have achieved with AeroSHARK to date," says Claus Bauer, SWISS’s Head of Technical Fleet Management. "We’re proud too, to be the first airline in the world to have equipped an entire aircraft fleet with this innovative technology. Each aircraft takes about a week to have its AeroSHARK film applied, which requires high-precision workmanship from our personnel. I am delighted that our commitment to this technology is delivering such positive results and is enabling us at SWISS to take a further substantial step in making our flight operations more sustainable."

Reducing emissions with innovations

"Equipping the entire SWISS Boeing 777 fleet with AeroSHARK marks a milestone on the way to lower emissions in aviation. Even supposedly small technical innovations can make an important contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions when flying," states Sören Stark, CEO of Lufthansa Technik. "The fuel-saving effect of the bionic film has been confirmed in more than 60,000 flight hours at SWISS alone. This is the result of hard work, intensive research and a strong partnership between Lufthansa Technik and BASF. We are proud of this and want to continue to play an active role in shaping the transformation of aviation."

The implementation of AeroSHARK was preceded by years of research and development work by Lufthansa Technik and the chemical company BASF. At the end of 2022, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) granted Lufthansa Technik the approval for the series conversion of two Boeing 777 aircraft types with AeroSHARK after an extensive examination process. A total of 17 Lufthansa Group aircraft have already been modified with AeroSHARK ‒ and the number is growing. Lufthansa Technik and BASF intend to continue developing AeroSHARK for other aircraft types and larger areas to support airlines worldwide in achieving their emission targets.