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In December 2023, LATAM Airlines became the first airline outside the Lufthansa Group and in the Americas to implement AeroSHARK technology on its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. This bionic surface film was installed in São Paulo and has been tested in daily operations since then. The positive results have led LATAM to expand this technology to four more aircraft, resulting in five AeroSHARK-modified planes operated by LATAM Airlines Brazil.
Sebastián Acuto, Director of Fleet and Projects at LATAM Airlines Group, stated: “Our fleet modernization strategy is a cornerstone of our commitment to sustainability and our vision of achieving net zero by 2050. We remain focused on innovation and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, ensuring our fleet evolves in line with our environmental goals.”
AeroSHARK is a surface film developed by BASF and Lufthansa Technik that mimics sharkskin's flow-optimized structure. It features riblets about 50 micrometers in size that reduce drag when applied to an aircraft's fuselage and engine nacelles. This reduction leads to decreased fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by around one percent. For LATAM’s modified Boeing 777-300ERs, this translates into annual savings of up to 2,000 metric tons of kerosene and 6,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions.
