EVA Air’s 777F fleet to be modified with AeroSHARK

EVA Air has become the first Asian airline to modify its aircraft with Lufthansa Technik’s drag-reducing and fuel-saving AeroSHARK surface film technology.

The Taipei-based airline’s entire cargo fleet of nine Boeing 777Fs will be modified with the innovative riblet films covering the aircraft’s fuselage and engine nacelles.

EVA Air’s first freighter has already undergone this comprehensive modification at the airline’s home base at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport.

Closely guided by Lufthansa Technik, the modification was executed by EVA Air’s affiliate, Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. (EGAT).

The aircraft is expected to re-enter commercial service in early September, with EVA Air’s entire 777 fleet expected to be equipped by 2027.

Lufthansa Technik says that if several hundred square meters of an aircraft’s fuselage and engine nacelles are covered with AeroSHARK, the frictional resistance of the aircraft is reduced so significantly that fuel consumption and the resulting emissions are reduced by around 1%.

Extrapolated to EVA Air’s nine 777F aircraft, this equates to annual savings of more than 2,500 metric tonnes of kerosene and more than 7,800 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Albert Liao, executive vice president of the corporate planning division at EVA Air, said: “EVA Air is continually progressing towards its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, constantly seeking the latest technologies to reduce our carbon footprint.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Lufthansa Technik in applying the fuel-saving AeroSHARK surface technology to our 777F freighters. This innovation not only reduces fuel consumption but also lowers CO2 emissions.

“EVA Air will continuously monitor the actual fuel-saving benefits and further evaluate additional aircraft to be equipped with this technology.”

Dr. Wassef Ayadi, senior director of customer relations OEM and special engineering services at Lufthansa Technik, said: “EVA Air is well known for both its pioneering spirit and its technical expertise, hence we are all the more pleased that we succeeded in convincing them about the benefits of AeroSHARK, the world’s most advanced sharkskin product for the commercial aviation industry.

“We are proud that with AeroSHARK we can provide international pioneers like EVA Air with a real quick-win measure to reduce the environmental footprint of their operations.”

Lufthansa Technik currently holds Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the AeroSHARK modification of two types of Boeing 777. A double-digit number of aircraft is already in worldwide service with AeroSHARK.

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