Swiss made this announcement:

Over the past 20 months, SWISS has equipped its entire fleet of Boeing 777-300ER long-haul models with AeroSHARK technology. The film applied to the fuselage and engines nacelles the aerodynamically favorable properties of sharkskin, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions during flight.

On October 14, 2022, the world’s first passenger flight with AeroSHARK took off at 1:39 PM from Zurich to Miami. About a year and a half later, on 9 May 2024, at 2:21 PM, a SWISS Boeing B777-300ER (registration HB-JNF) in “sharkskin” took off from Zurich – once again to Miami. With the implementation of this innovative technology on HB-JNF, the entire fleet of this long-haul model at SWISS is now equipped with AeroSHARK.

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The transparent film has a structure similar to that of sharkskin. Thanks to this special surface texture, frictional resistance is reduced during flight. As a result, in 2023, SWISS was able to achieve significant savings in kerosene and CO2 emissions with a fleet that was not yet fully equipped. “We are very satisfied with the results so far and proud to be the first airline worldwide to equip an entire fleet with AeroSHARK,” says SWISS Head of Technical Fleet Management Claus Bauer.

The application of the films follows a highly detailed plan. The savings effect during flight is maximized only when the individual films are precisely aligned and applied in the correct locations. © Reto Hoffmann

From now on, SWISS will save fuel on every single flight with each of its twelve Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. This is one of several measures the airline is taking to make flying more sustainable.

Films are also applied to the engine nacelle of the Boeing 777-300ER. Working overhead requires utmost concentration in this regard. © Reto Hoffmann

More sustainable flying thanks to innovative technologies

SWISS aims to halve its net CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and strives to achieve CO2 neutrality by 2050. Among other things, it plans to achieve this through investments in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), which are made from biogenic waste. SWISS already uses SAF and, together with the Lufthansa Group, is committed to further research and testing of these fuels.

AeroSHARK is a surface technology developed by Lufthansa Technik and the chemical company BASF that enables a reduction in CO2 emissions. SWISS is examining the possibility of equipping other aircraft types in its long-haul fleet with this technology.

Top Copyright Photo: Swiss International Air Lines Boeing 777-300 ER HB-JNK (msn 66091) ZRH (Ton Jochems). Image: 963247.

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