Lufthansa Technik AG is proud to announce EVA Air as the first Asian airline to sign a retrofit contract with AeroSHARK surface technology for drag reduction and fuel savings, developed in collaboration with BASF. The Taipei-based airline decided to retrofit its entire cargo fleet of nine Boeing 777F long-haul freighters with the innovative riblet film covering the fuselage and engine nacelles. With B-16786, EVA Air's first freighter has already undergone this comprehensive retrofit at the airline's home base, Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. The retrofit was carried out by Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation (EGAT), an affiliate of EVA Air, under the close guidance of Lufthansa Technik. The aircraft is scheduled to enter commercial service in early September.
AeroSHARK is a functional surface film modeled on the drag-reducing structure of sharkskin. It consists of ribs (so-called riblets) measuring approximately 50 micrometers. Covering several hundred square meters of the fuselage and engine nacelles, it significantly reduces the aircraft's frictional resistance, lowering fuel consumption and associated emissions by around one percent. For EVA Air's nine 777F aircraft, this equates to a reduction of more than 2,500 tons of kerosene and more than 7,800 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
