Flight International - 04

Environment Technology
Lufthansa Cargo’s 777Fs are receiving
‘Aeroshark’ coating to reduce drag
Lufthansa Cargo
Lufthansa Cargo and Swiss International Air Lines
are applying the newly European Union Aviation
Safety Agency-approved ‘Aeroshark’ external coating
to 23 Boeing 777s – 11 freighters and 12 passenger
jets. The application – which replicates the contours
of shark skin – helps to reduce aerodynamic drag.
Swiss operated the first passenger flight using
this technology, which is collectively expected to
cut almost 24,000t of CO2 emissions annually, last
October, while Lufthansa Cargo’s first modified
freighter (D-ALFA) entered service in early February.
“If the flow pattern on the fuselage and engine
nacelles of the 777F is optimised in this way, significant
savings in fuel and emissions can be achieved,”
it says of the technology, which was developed by
Lufthansa Technik and BASF.
Streamlined aerodynamics
Meanwhile, Canada’s WestJet and US-based Aero
Design Labs have progressed tests of lightweight
wing and fuselage components which, when
retrofitted to 737 aircraft can also streamline aerodynamics,
cutting fuel burn and emissions by around
1.5%. Delta Air Lines plans to retrofit more than 200
of its 737s once the kit receives US Federal Aviation
Administration approval.
24,000t
Expected annual CO2 reduction from the application
of novel fuselage coating to 23 Lufthansa Group 777s
“Long term, the impact
from green aircraft and
sustainable fuel on reduced
CO2 emissions is big. But
today this is not available”
Sylvie Sureda-Perez Director of datalink solutions, Inmarsat
Technical intelligence is also key, with growing
access to data collected by aircraft and use of
real-time satellite communications both driving decisions
which can quickly cut fuel burn and emissions.
Aircraft data has produced insights into
inefficiencies such as uplift of excess taxi fuel and
potable water, both of which add significant weight,
increasing emissions. By leveraging the data, airlines
can use past performance to plan more efficient
future flights.
Real-time data collated by aircraft in flight, or
obtained through ever-improving satellite communication
systems, also enables pilots to immediately
optimise flights and cut emissions.
“In the long term, obviously the impact from
green aircraft and sustainable fuel on reduced CO2
emissions is big. But today this is not available,”
Sylvie Sureda-Perez, director of datalink solutions
for connectivity provider Inmarsat, said in its recent
report Plotting the Route to a Greener Future.
“If you want to start addressing the problem,” she
says, “you have to start with the available solution.”
Sometimes that means picking a “one percenter”. ◗
April 2023 Flight International 65