Summary

• EVA Air is the first Asian airline to use AeroSHARK to reduce drag and lower fuel consumption.
• By installing the AeroSHARK foil on nine 777F aircraft, EVA Air saves over 2,500 tons of fuel annually and thus reduces CO2 emissions.
• EVA Air is aiming for net zero carbon emissions and is monitoring the benefits of AeroSHARK technology.

The summer peak season is long over, and now it’s that time again: Many airlines in the northern hemisphere are sending their aircraft for scheduled maintenance and conversion. The Taiwanese airline EVA Air is using some downtime to convert its fleet of nine Boeing 777Fs with the drag-reducing AeroSHARK foil.

A growing AeroSHARK trend

The revolutionary AeroSHARK technology has been around for several years, but increasing pressure on airlines to reduce their CO2 emissions seems to be driving them more and more towards this technology from Lufthansa Technik. The latest airline is EVA Air, which announced in a joint statement with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) on Friday that it would be the first Asian airline to equip its aircraft with AeroSHARK.

The first Boeing 777F, a 2019 freighter with registration L-16786 and MSN 62828, has already rolled out of the hangar at EVA Air’s Taiwanese base at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE). The fuselage and engine nacelles are covered with AeroSHARK film. EVA Air’s affiliate Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation (EGAT) made the modification under the watchful eyes of LHT experts, and the modified 777F will return to service next month.

As mentioned above, AeroSHARK, a joint development between LHT and BASF, is a functional surface film that mimics the drag-reducing structure of shark skin. It is covered with surface ridges that are approximately 50 micrometers (0.00197 inches) thick. These ridges disrupt the airflow and allow the aircraft to fly with less drag, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Around 830 square metres of AeroSHARK film are needed to cover the fuselage and engine nacelles to achieve a fuel saving of 1% per flight. For EVA Air’s nine 777Fs, this means an annual saving of more than 2,500 tonnes of kerosene and more than 7,800 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

EVA Air monitors savings

Albert Liao, Executive Vice President of EVA Air’s Corporate Planning Division, said the airline is continuously working towards its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and is constantly seeking the latest technologies to reduce its carbon footprint. Liao said EVA is pleased to collaborate with Lufthansa Technik in applying the fuel-saving AeroSHARK surface technology on its 777F freighters, adding:

This innovation not only reduces fuel consumption but also CO2 emissions. EVA Air will continuously monitor the actual fuel saving benefits and examine whether more aircraft can be equipped with this technology.”

According to Planespotters.net, EVA Air has a fleet of 84 aircraft, including nine Boeing 777F freighters. Data shows that the airline owns 17 Airbus A321-200s, nine A330-300s, 33 Boeing 777-300ERs, four 787-9s and 12 787-10 Dreamliners. LHT currently holds Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the AeroSHARK modification of two types of Boeing 777s and is said to have a double-digit number of aircraft in service with this product.

BASF and Lufthansa Technik are continuously developing AeroSHARK to support even more aircraft types and airlines worldwide. They are currently working on obtaining approvals for additional aircraft types and even larger areas. Model calculations indicate that AeroSHARK could save up to 3% of CO2 emissions if the coverage area is expanded to the maximum.