The airlines are always looking for ways to save a buck these days. Charging for extra bags, no meals, more efficient engines, etc, This latest cost saving trick uses a nanocoating called tripleO. The tripleO nano-scale acrylic polymer is applied to the airplane and fills in the tiny cracks and pores reducing drag by up to 40%.
Sounds good right? The fuel savings is only about 1-2%, which isn't amazing, but multiply that times a large fleet of planes and it adds up quickly. Easyjet, a British airline, saves tens of millions of dollars per year.