LATAM Airlines is taking a bold step in the race to decarbonize long haul flying, announcing that it will extend AeroSHARK, an innovative sharkskin inspired surface technology, across its entire Boeing 777 fleet. The move positions the Santiago based group at the forefront of practical, in service efficiency upgrades, promising greener operations and potentially cheaper fares on some of South America’s busiest intercontinental routes.
A World First for Latin America’s Long Haul Champion
The latest agreement between LATAM Airlines Group and Lufthansa Technik confirms that all ten of LATAM’s Boeing 777 300ER aircraft will be fitted with AeroSHARK, a ribbed film applied to the fuselage and engine nacelles to reduce drag in cruise flight. Five aircraft had already been modified by the end of 2025, with the remaining five covered by a new contract signed in early February 2026. Installation of the final shipsets is expected to be completed in 2027, giving LATAM a fully sharkskin enhanced 777 fleet.
This rollout makes LATAM the second airline in the world to operate an entire Boeing 777 subfleet with AeroSHARK, following a similar full fleet deployment at SWISS. For a carrier that relies on the 777 300ER as the backbone of services from South American hubs such as São Paulo and Santiago to North America and Europe, the decision is more than symbolic. It signals that retrofitting existing aircraft with advanced aerodynamic technologies is now a central pillar of LATAM’s environmental and cost reduction strategy.
The 777 300ER has long been valued for its payload range performance, particularly on dense, long sectors over the Atlantic. By layering AeroSHARK onto a proven widebody workhorse rather than waiting for an entirely new generation of aircraft, LATAM is aiming to capture immediate efficiency gains while broader industry efforts around sustainable aviation fuel production and next generation airplanes continue to mature.
How AeroSHARK’s Sharkskin Film Works in Flight
AeroSHARK is the product of a collaboration between Lufthansa Technik and chemical specialist BASF. Engineers looked to the way sharks move efficiently through water, studying the microscopic ribbed structure of sharkskin. These natural grooves, known as riblets, help control the flow of water along the animal’s body, cutting resistance and allowing it to swim faster with less energy. Translating that concept into aviation, the partners developed a tough, 50 micrometer thin film patterned with millions of tiny riblets that can be bonded to an aircraft’s exterior.
Applied in carefully mapped zones on the fuselage and around engine nacelles, the riblets guide the airflow in cruise, reducing skin friction drag. In simple terms, the aircraft slices through the air more cleanly, requiring marginally less thrust to maintain the same speed and altitude. The gains sound small on paper. Lufthansa Technik data indicates a typical drag and fuel burn reduction of around one percent in the current configuration for long haul aircraft types such as the Boeing 777. Yet on flights that routinely span ten or more hours, and across a fleet that logs tens of thousands of hours annually, that one percent becomes a significant saving.
The technology has already compiled extensive operating data across multiple airlines and aircraft types, with Lufthansa Group reporting hundreds of thousands of flight hours and tens of thousands of tons of fuel and carbon dioxide saved since AeroSHARK’s introduction. For LATAM, which must contend with long overwater segments and high density usage on the 777 route network, the aerodynamic optimization offers an attractive blend of proven performance and relatively low retrofit complexity compared with structural modifications or engine changes.
Fuel Savings, Emissions Cuts and Cost Implications
On each individual Boeing 777 300ER, AeroSHARK is expected to save around one percent of annual fuel consumption. Figures published in earlier implementations suggest that for a 777 300ER, that translates into roughly 400 metric tons of kerosene and more than 1,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided per aircraft per year, depending on utilization and route structure. Scaled to LATAM’s full ten aircraft 777 fleet, the cumulative effect becomes substantial, equating to several thousand tons of fuel and many thousands of tons of emissions reduced over the life of the program.
Fuel remains one of the largest single cost components for long haul airlines, often accounting for a quarter or more of total operating expenses. Even marginal efficiency improvements can therefore have a meaningful impact on an airline’s bottom line. By trimming fuel burn on every flight, AeroSHARK can provide LATAM with recurring savings that help offset volatility in global oil markets and support competitive pricing on key international routes.
Passengers are unlikely to see a separate AeroSHARK surcharge or discount on tickets. Instead, the benefit is expected to be diffused across the network in the form of greater cost resilience and, potentially, a slower upward drift in long haul fares than might otherwise occur in a high fuel price environment. From an investor and industry perspective, the numbers also demonstrate that incremental, immediately deployable technologies have a tangible role to play in aviation’s transition, rather than waiting solely for breakthrough propulsion systems or fuels.
A Cornerstone in LATAM’s Sustainability Roadmap
For LATAM, the full fleet adoption of AeroSHARK fits into a wider strategy to reduce its environmental footprint. Like many global carriers, the group has set medium and long term decarbonization targets, centered around a blend of fleet renewal, operational optimization, and increased use of sustainable aviation fuels. Latin America’s geography and economic profile, with high reliance on air transport to connect distant regions and international markets, makes the challenge especially acute.
In this context, improving the efficiency of existing aircraft is not merely a public relations exercise but a practical necessity. New technology widebodies have long order backlogs, and sustainable fuels remain in limited supply and at a substantial price premium to conventional kerosene. By contrast, AeroSHARK and similar drag reduction measures can be implemented during planned maintenance events, yielding certified and measurable performance gains without structural redesign or new engines.
The decision to extend AeroSHARK across the 777 fleet also reinforces LATAM’s reputation as an early adopter of pragmatic climate solutions in the Americas. The airline was the first carrier outside Lufthansa Group to introduce AeroSHARK into commercial operation and has used the platform to gather data under South American operating conditions. As the wider industry looks for proven pathways to shrink emissions while continuing to meet demand for long haul connectivity, that real world experience carries weight in regulatory and technical discussions.
Passenger Experience: What Travelers Will Notice
For travelers boarding a LATAM Boeing 777 300ER, the introduction of AeroSHARK will be largely invisible. The sharkskin film is transparent and applied flush to the fuselage, following the aircraft’s existing contours. From inside the cabin, there are no changes to seating layouts, inflight entertainment or service routines specifically tied to the modification. Pilots continue to operate the aircraft within the same envelope and performance limits, as AeroSHARK’s certification requires that it have no adverse effects on handling qualities or safety.
The most noticeable shift will instead be in the messaging around sustainability. LATAM is expected to highlight the technology in its onboard communications and marketing, using the sharkskin analogy to explain how the airline is tackling emissions on multiple fronts. For environmentally conscious passengers, particularly those flying in corporate travel programs with their own climate reporting obligations, the knowledge that their preferred carrier is investing in concrete efficiency upgrades may factor into airline choice.
Over time, if fuel savings are sustained and scale across the network, customers could also benefit through improved schedule resilience. Lower underlying operating costs give carriers greater flexibility when optimizing routes, adjusting capacity, or absorbing short term spikes in fuel prices without severe cuts or surcharges. In an era where long haul demand is rebounding and airport constraints remain, such resilience can be a quiet but important part of the passenger experience.
How LATAM’s Move Fits into a Global AeroSHARK Rollout
LATAM’s decision comes as AeroSHARK transitions from a novel experiment to a widely deployed fleet solution. Within the Lufthansa Group, the technology has already been rolled out on all twelve SWISS Boeing 777 300ERs and multiple Lufthansa Cargo 777 freighters, with Austrian Airlines now moving ahead on its own 777 200ER fleet. Across these airlines, AeroSHARK has accumulated extensive operational hours, providing a robust statistical foundation for both fuel savings claims and long term durability.
Globally, interest in riblet based films and other laminar flow enhancements is growing as regulators and stakeholders press airlines to show concrete progress on near term emissions reductions. Compared with more radical aircraft design changes, sharkskin films occupy a relatively low risk, incremental niche. They work with rather than against existing airframes and engines, complementing other measures such as lighter cabin fittings, winglet upgrades, and optimized flight planning.
For LATAM, aligning its flagship widebody fleet with this emerging global standard brings reputational benefits alongside operational gains. As the only major airline group headquartered in South America to embrace AeroSHARK so comprehensively, it strengthens its position as a regional leader in aviation technology and environmental performance. That leadership may, in turn, influence peer carriers and regional regulators to explore similar solutions as part of broader decarbonization frameworks.
Timelines, Operations and What Comes Next
According to the latest rollout plan, half of LATAM’s Boeing 777 300ER fleet had already been operating with AeroSHARK by the end of 2025. The newly announced extension covers the remaining five aircraft, with modifications scheduled to take place during planned maintenance checks between now and 2027. Each retrofit involves the installation of several hundred square meters of riblet film, precisely aligned on the fuselage and around the engines to maximize drag reduction, followed by inspection and testing before the aircraft returns to revenue service.
From an operational standpoint, the retrofit work is coordinated to minimize disruption to LATAM’s long haul schedule. The 777 300ERs serve high demand routes that are critical to the group’s revenue, so grounding an aircraft for unplanned modifications is not an option. Instead, AeroSHARK installation is integrated into heavy maintenance visits, leveraging existing infrastructure and expertise at Lufthansa Technik and partner facilities. Once modified, the aircraft reenters the fleet with no special handling requirements beyond routine monitoring of the film’s condition during standard inspections.
Looking ahead, the success of the 777 program could pave the way for similar treatments on other long haul types in LATAM’s portfolio, particularly the Boeing 787 family. AeroSHARK has already been certified or is in development for a growing list of widebodies, and operators are evaluating the business case aircraft by aircraft. For now, however, the focus is firmly on maximizing the gains from LATAM’s largest twin jet, where high utilization and long routes make every incremental efficiency advantage count.
Toward Greener, More Affordable Long Haul Travel
The full fleet deployment of AeroSHARK across LATAM’s Boeing 777s captures a central theme in aviation’s current transition: there is no single breakthrough that will instantly decarbonize air travel. Instead, the path to lower emissions will be paved with many small but meaningful improvements, layered onto aircraft, operations, fuels, and infrastructure. Sharkskin inspired films, with their modest but measurable one percent savings, illustrate how biomimicry and materials science can deliver real world gains today.
For passengers, the promise is straightforward. As airlines like LATAM squeeze more efficiency from each ton of fuel burned, they create space to keep long haul flying accessible while still moving toward climate goals. The conversion of all ten 777 300ERs into AeroSHARK equipped aircraft will not, on its own, solve aviation’s emissions challenge. But it represents a concrete, operational step that can be replicated and scaled, showing that even the largest widebodies in the sky can be made a little cleaner and a little cheaper to operate through smart engineering.
In the coming years, travelers departing São Paulo, Santiago or Lima on LATAM’s sharkskin enhanced 777s may not immediately feel the difference as they settle into their seats. Yet at 35,000 feet, the ribbed films silently shaping the airflow over the fuselage will be helping to cut emissions and contain costs on every flight. In a sector often criticized for moving too slowly on climate, that quiet efficiency may be one of the most important travel innovations of the decade.