The world's first cargo aircraft modified with fuel-saving AeroSHARK surface technology has entered service.
The maiden flight came after October 2022 saw a SWISS passenger aircraft, which had been modified with the shark skin type surface addition developed by Lufthansa Technik and BASF, make a similar debut journey.
The cargo flight was en route from Frankfurt to Chengdu, via a stopover in Bengaluru, Lufthansa Technik said on February 3, with the AeroSHARK addition expected to make the long journey 1% more fuel-efficient.
"AeroSHARK is a surface film that mimics the microscopic structure of shark skin. It consists of ribs around 50 micrometers in size, the so-called riblets. If the airflow on the fuselage and engine nacelles of the Boeing 777F is optimised in this way, significant fuel savings can be achieved," it said.
"We are proud to be able to operate our entire freighter fleet even more efficiently in the future thanks to sharkskin technology and to further reduce the carbon footprint of our modern fleet,"said Dorothea von Boxberg, chairwoman of the executive board and chief executive of Lufthansa Cargo.