SWISS International Air Lines (SWISS) has decided to equip its entire Boeing long-haul fleet with the fuel-saving AeroSHARK surface technology. Starting in the middle of this year, a total of twelve Boeing 777-300ERs will gradually be fitted with the riblet films developed jointly by Lufthansa Technik and BASF. The significantly reduced frictional resistance resulting from this modification will make the sub-fleet more than one percent more fuel efficient and lower in emissions.
Swiss is the first passenger airline worldwide to use the innovative surface technology to significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions of one of its existing fleets, thereby improving both economy and ecology. With approximately 950 m² of riblet film, the modification of the “long” Boeing 777-300ER will be even larger than the 800 m² on the Boeing 777F of AeroSHARK’s launch customer Lufthansa Cargo. The potential for fuel and CO2 savings on this scale is around 1.1 percent. Converted to the operational profile of the twelve Boeing 777-300ERs at SWISS, this means annual savings of more than 4,800 tonnes of kerosene and roughly 15,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide, as much as is usually generated on approximately 87 long-haul flights from Zurich to Mumbai.
“Reducing our environmental footprint is one of the biggest challenges facing the aviation industry and becoming carbon neutral until 2050 is an important strategic goal for SWISS,” said Dieter Vranckx, Chief Executive Officer of SWISS. “We are keen to actively promote and invest in the use of new technologies. We are pleased to be the world’s first passenger airline to offer the innovative AeroSHARK technology on our Boeing 777 fleet, making another important contribution to more sustainable air travel in the future.”
