Most relevant part: “By applying a total of 950 square meters of AeroSHARK riblet film to the fuselage and engine nacelle surfaces of a Boeing 777, fuel savings of approximately 1.1 percent can be achieved.”
Seems hardly worth it ? 1.1%? What about the cost of application and maintenance ? I’m guessing it’s plastic too, which will pollute the environment somehow.
Expectation of success or profit = P(success)reward - P(failure)penalty - opportunity cost (TCO)
Supposed these panels were $100k/plane.
Jet fuel costs $0.36/lbs and a 777 burns about 30 lbs/nm in cruise. Suppose a 777 averages 14,000 nm/day. That's 420,000 lbs/day or $151,200/day. 1% savings would be $1,512/day, so the break even point would be roughly 2 months and would be profitable from then on. Suppose a 2 year lifecycle. That a savings $500k per year per plane.
Put a little more thought and data into your comments if you would be so kind.
The plane can carry 45,000 gallons of fuel. 2.1 bucks a gallon. So probably 500 bucks of savings a flight since most flights arent full capacity. 130k flights in '23. So ez 65 million in savings a year.
Worth doing for the environment even if it's cost neutral probably.