Lufthansa Cargo equips a fourth freighter with CO2-efficient AeroSHARK technology

• Modified 777 freighter returned to service October 13
• Entire fleet to be equipped with shark skin technology by the end of 2027
• One step closer to achieving full CO₂ neutrality by 2050

On October 13, another Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777F equipped with AeroSHARK technology entered service. This is the fourth freighter to be equipped by Lufthansa Technik with the technology since February this year.

AeroSHARK is a functional surface film that imitates the microscopic structure of shark skin. It reduces the aerodynamic drag on the fuselage and engine nacelles of the Boeing 777F, resulting in significant fuel and emissions savings. This technology, jointly developed by Lufthansa Technik and BASF, will be successively applied to Lufthansa Cargo’s entire fleet of 777 freighters, making them more fuel efficient and reducing emissions. As with the previous modified freighters, Lufthansa Technik expects fuel savings of about one percent. Calculated over Lufthansa Cargo’s entire 777 fleet, this will save more than 4,000 metric tons of kerosene per year and thus almost 13,000 metric tons of CO₂emissions. This corresponds to about 53 cargo flights from Frankfurt to Shanghai.

“The special coating significantly reduces the frictional resistance of the aircraft. Together with the lightweight cargo equipment we already use today, this technology will enable us to save 5,493 tons of kerosene per year. This is an important step on our way to becoming 100 percent CO₂-neutral in the air by 2050,” said Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.

By 2027, all 777 Freighters will be coated with AeroSHARK and the entire 777 fleet will be integrated into Lufthansa Cargo’s global network of scheduled services. Modification of the next aircraft will begin in August 2024 during the regular maintenance layovers.