Press release -
Lufthansa Cargo equips a fourth freighter with CO2-efficient AeroSHARK technology
- Modified 777 freighter returned to service October 13
- Entire fleet to be equipped with shark skin technology by the end of 2027
- One step closer to achieving full CO2 neutrality by 2050
On October 13, another Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777F equipped with AeroSHARK technology entered service. This is the fourth freighter to be equipped by Lufthansa Technik with the technology since February this year.
AeroSHARK is a functional surface film that imitates the microscopic structure of shark skin. It reduces the aerodynamic drag on the fuselage and engine nacelles of the Boeing 777F, resulting in significant fuel and emissions savings. This technology, jointly developed by Lufthansa Technik and BASF, will be successively applied to Lufthansa Cargo's entire fleet of 777 freighters, making them more fuel efficient and reducing emissions. As with the previous modified freighters, Lufthansa Technik expects fuel savings of about one percent. Calculated over Lufthansa Cargo's entire 777 fleet, this will save more than 4,000 metric tons of kerosene per year and thus almost 13,000 metric tons of CO2emissions. This corresponds to about 53 cargo flights from Frankfurt to Shanghai.
“The special coating significantly reduces the frictional resistance of the aircraft. Together with the lightweight cargo equipment we already use today, this technology will enable us to save 5,493 tons of kerosene per year. This is an important step on our way to becoming 100 percent CO2-neutral in the air by 2050,” said Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.
By 2027, all 777 Freighters will be coated with AeroSHARK and the entire 777 fleet will be integrated into Lufthansa Cargo's global network of scheduled services. Modification of the next aircraft will begin in August 2024 during the regular maintenance layovers.
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Lufthansa Cargo AG
With revenue of 4.6 billion euros and a transport performance of 7.2 billion freight ton kilometers in 2022, Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world's leading companies in the transport of airfreight. The company currently employs around 4,100 people worldwide. Lufthansa Cargo's focus is on the airport-to-airport business. The route network covers around 300 destinations in more than 100 countries, using both freighter aircraft and cargo capacity from passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and SunExpress, as well as trucks. The majority of the cargo business is handled via Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Cargo is pursuing the goal of becoming the world's most environmentally friendly cargo airline. To achieve this, the company relies on state-of-the-art technologies and constant investments in the area of sustainability. In 2022, important milestones were reached, such as the investment in the continuous expansion of the B777F fleet, the expansion of short- and medium-haul networks with A321 freighters, and the continuation of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel program. In 2023, Lufthansa Cargo plans to successively equip its B777F fleet with Sharkskin technology, implement further digital services and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions through sustainable logistics solutions. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the specialist for the logistics business of the Lufthansa Group.
