Summary Photo: via Florian Klebl via Wikimedia . Airlines are using new technology like AeroSHARK film to gain small savings that add up to significant emissions reductions over time. The AeroSHARK technology, imitating sharkskin, can cut CO2 emissions by reducing friction of aircraft passing through air.
Austrian Airlines is investing in AeroSHARK to reach CO2 reduction goals, with impressive fuel and emissions savings on long-haul flights. In the battle against climate change and to reach net zero emissions by 2050, airlines worldwide are looking for the 1% gains already available. Switching to new-generation aircraft and engines is a fast way to gain double-digit leaps in cutting emissions, but getting hold of new aircraft is not as easy as it once was.
Smoothing out the bumps Keen Simple Flying readers would have already heard of AeroSHARK technology, a riblet film that reduces frictional resistance during flight, allowing for a smoother passage through the air. That smoother passage reduces fuel consumption and cuts CO2 emissions in much the same way that aerodynamic bikes move through the air quicker to reduce drag. The miracle microstructures could be the solution to achieving the industry’s challenging environmental goal.
Lufthansa Technik , one of the world's leading aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) specialists, is at the forefront of this sharkskin technology. Today, Lufthansa Technik (LHT) announced it is fitting AeroSHARK surface film to a new airc.