Lufthansa Technik Moves AeroSHARK Toward Airbus A330 Approval

Overview

• Lufthansa Technik said Wednesday that it has entered the final EASA supplemental type certificate phase for AeroSHARK on the A330-200 and A330-300 and has chosen a Discover Airlines A330-200 as the first Airbus to be fitted and flight‑tested.
• The Discover Airlines jet will fly several weeks of test sorties before and after a retrofit at Elbe Flugzeugwerke in Dresden as part of the ground, flight and in‑service validation required by EASA.
• AeroSHARK is a riblet‑textured surface film developed with Surventis that lowers aerodynamic drag to reduce fuel use and CO₂ emissions by improving airflow over the fuselage.
• The technology is already approved for Boeing 777 variants and, as of August 2026, has been installed on 22 aircraft across carriers including LATAM, SWISS, Lufthansa, ANA and EVA Air, and Lufthansa Technik has engaged partners such as Mastercard for the A330 project phase.
• If certification succeeds, the A330 program could unlock broad retrofit demand because about 1,000 A330-200/-300 airframes remain in service, which would spread operating cost and emissions savings but will depend on the outcome of EASA testing and the pace of retrofit operations.