2022 09 01 PR Image AeroSHARK B777 1 Copyright SWISS
Airlines gnash their teeth over delayed deliveries. These delays mean unplanned MRO costs and higher fuel burn, which are significant cost issues.
As the saying goes, one door closes, and another opens.
This frustrating delivery delay situation is an opportunity for current technologies to prolong aircraft lives. There are e-taxi technologies that cut time and costs when pushing off gates. There are active winglets that cut fuel burn significantly—we estimate deploying Tamarack‘s active winglets can cut an NG/CEO fuel burn to nearly the MAX/NEO levels.
Another exciting solution that impacts operational costs is BASF/Lufthansa Technik’s AeroSHARK solution. EVA Air is deploying this on its 777F fleet. The solution is expected to save one percent of fuel and reduce emissions for the sharkskin-modified aircraft.
AeroSHARK is a functional surface film modeled on a sharkskin’s drag-reducing structure. It consists of ribs around 50 micrometers in size – the so-called riblets. This material covers several hundred square meters of the fuselage and engine nacelles. The frictional resistance of the aircraft is reduced so significantly that fuel consumption and resulting emissions are reduced by around one percent. Extrapolated to EVA Air’s nine 777F aircraft, this equates to annual savings of more than 2,500 metric tons of JetA and more than 7,800 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
The challenge for operators and lessors is the time required to deploy these ideas. Given the slow deliveries and uncertain delivery timelines, how long can decisions be pushed off? EVA decided the AeroSHARK solution warrants the investment for its freighter fleet. Lufthansa has also fitted AeroShark to 17 of its fleet, with the Austrian 777 fleet soon to be added.
With Lufthansa Group and EVA moving forward on AeroSHARK, others can be expected to follow. It will be interesting to see which other existing technologies can be deployed to offset rising operating costs.
