LATAM to Integrate AeroSHARK onto All Boeing 777 Aircraft in Fleet

LATAM Airlines has announced that the company is applying AeroSHARK solutions to its entire fleet of 10 Boeing 777 aircraft.

Under the new agreement, Lufthansa Technik will deliver five more AeroSHARK shipsets to LATAM for the airline to use for retrofitting the rest of its Boeing 777-300ER fleet.

 While LATAM Airlines has been using AeroSHARK on around half of its fleet in 2025, it now plans to modify all remaining aircraft by 2027. LATAM is the first airline not a part of the Lufthansa Group that has been using AeroSHARK.

AeroSHARK is a bionic film that reduces drag, developed together by Lufthansa Technik and BASF Coatings. The product mimics the structure of sharkskin, featuring small 50-micrometer protrusions—known as riblets—along the length of the aircraft.

These riblets optimize airflow, reducing drag enough to save LATAM an estimated 12,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and 4,000 metric tons of jet fuel once the project is complete.

When all modifications are completed, LATAM will officially be the second airline in the world to use a fleet that is completely fitted with AeroSHARK. 

Head of Fleet and Projects at LATAM Airlines Group Nicolas Seitz said, “Expanding the use of AeroSHARK across our entire Boeing 777-300ER fleet is a clear example of how LATAM combines innovation, operational efficiency and sustainability in very concrete actions.”

Seitz continued, “The proven results achieved with the first aircraft give us the confidence to scale this solution, reducing fuel consumption and emissions while maintaining the highest operational standards.”

“This initiative is fully aligned with our long-term strategy to operate a more efficient and sustainable fleet,” added Seitz.

Head of Product Sales and Customer Support Special Engineering Services at Lufthansa Technik Petra Lahme said, “I don’t know to what extent sharks are native to Latin American waters, but it feels like they are becoming more and more native to Latin American skies. And that’s because of LATAM’s pioneering spirit and our innovative, cost-saving technology.”

Lahme noted, “Therefore, I would like to thank our valued customer for the renewed trust in AeroSHARK and eagerly look forward to completing the modification of LATAM’s 777 fleet in the next two years.”

 BASF Coatings and Lufthansa Technik are continuously developing AeroSHARK to ensure it can support industry-wide sustainability goals in aviation.

For example, the collaboration is seeking supplemental type certification (STC) for more aircraft types, adding to the existing lineup of:

• Boeing 777-200ER
• Boeing 777-300ER
• Boeing 777F
• Boeing 747-400

In line with these goals, Lufthansa Technik has also announced plans to complete the first AeroSHARK modification for the Airbus A330ceo.