There has been a significant trend towards the electrification of pushback tractors, both conventional and towbarless, including the introduction of widebody aircraft pushbacks, according to Erwan Jalil, CEO of TLD Group.
“This is being driven by advancements in lithium technology and the efficiency of electrical drivelines. Customers now recognise that the maintenance towing of widebody aircraft with a fully electric tractor is feasible, leading to a strong trend in orders. Electric units are outperforming diesel ones, and their autonomy is now well-proven in operations with our machines,” he said.
TLD has the largest range of electric offerings and the most efficient and innovative units, for example, reGen Loader, POWER GPU, Towbarless MTX-E and Transporter TF-E, and expects double digit growth in 2025.
“TLD has the widest product range and the most innovative units. We are ahead of the ground handlers: they dream, we dream, develop, and produce, and then they use our products with our support,” said Alvest Group Communications Director Yves Crespel, adding that: “Hybridisation and electrification will accelerate the phasing out of internal combustion engines and hydraulic drivelines by the end of 2025.”
The long-range version of the TPX-200- MTX-E tractor will be available by the end of 2024 and the hydrogen-powered version, which is the MTX-E with a fuel cell, will be available by mid-2025.
Earlier this year, Air France bought the TPX-200-MTX-E which will handle the entire fleet.
Rémy Delabeye, Head of GSE and Vehicles Division at Air France, said: “Facing the climate crisis, Air France is taking responsibility and acting towards leaner, greener ground operations. Air France covers 100% of its short-haul flights from CDG and ORY with TPX-100e, and 100% of its short and long-haul flights from CDG with TLD ACUs. The electrification of its fleet continues with the standardisation around the TXL-838-reGen for 7T loaders. Adding the TPX-200-MTX-E to the fleet is another step to rapidly reduce direct CO2 emissions.”
In 2024 the pushback market has seen a varied performance across the three global regions of the Oshkosh AeroTech GSE business. While overall demand has rebounded post-Covid, some areas have been slower to spend due to lingering economic uncertainties.
“All in all, Oshkosh AeroTech has experienced continued growth across our all-electric, towbarless LEKTRO pushback tractor as well as our traditional tractors,” said Will Lunt, Engineering Manager, LEKTRO at Oshkosh AeroTech.
“Oshkosh AeroTech projects solid performance in 2025, fuelled by regional carriers, increasing demand for electric ground support equipment (eGSE) and sustainable solutions. The manufacturer can now handle nearly every type of aircraft with its comprehensive lineup of pushback tractors from piston engine aircraft and turboprops through the A380 and C5 military aircraft.
“With industry-wide focus on reducing carbon emissions, the expectation is that airports will continue to transition to electrified fleets like our LEKTRO product line, creating significant opportunities. Our global customer care team also sees strong demand for field kits to convert existing fleets to alternate power solutions,” continued Lunt.
Oshkosh AeroTech has responded to customer demand for sustainable ground support equipment and demonstrated its commitment by electrifying its entire portfolio of tractors.
Ed Sachs, Engineering Manager, Deicers and Tractors, GSE, at Oshkosh AeroTech, explained: “With the exception of the B1200, all our models are presently available with electric power alternatives, underscoring our dedication to offering sustainable solutions throughout our pushback product offering. It’s also worth noting that the LEKTRO product has been fully electric from its inception.
“The electrification of our tractor line started with the B650 and B250 models and has continued with electric power for the B80, B350 and B950 (the B950 is capable of handling larger aircraft like the 747 freighters, with several already units sold). Oshkosh AeroTech is continuing to refine its models, including advancements in autonomous features.
“As for the fully electric LEKTRO models, LEKTRO led the industry when it joined our tractor product line and will continue to lead with new value engineered units that are upgraded to the latest electrical power technologies, telematics and more.”
Asia
As of now, Guangtai pushback tractor sales in 2024 have experienced an impressive increase of 87% compared to the previous year, with sales numbers continuing to rise.
Genna Liu, Public Relations Manager, at Guangtai, said: “Our strong performance in the Asian market, which accounted for 30% of
total pushback sales this year, underscores our growing influence in the region. Additionally, we have achieved remarkable results in other markets, such as Europe, Australia, Africa, etc.
Looking ahead, we are confident that Guangtai pushbacks will continue to excel, particularly with our electric pushbacks, which promise to meet the increasing demand for sustainable solutions in the aviation industry.”
She says Guangtai is poised for even more impressive market performance in 2025, reflecting a confident outlook rooted in high quality products, excellent service and strategic foresight.
“We are well-positioned to capitalise on emerging growth opportunities. The demand for building green airports is growing, and Guangtai is capable of providing one-stop electric GSE solutions. Guangtai is also continuously innovating technology, improving
after-sales service, and increasing production capacity, making the coming year an exciting period of growth and achievement.”
As airport electrification continues to advance, the demand for Guangtai’s Leap Tiger is growing steadily, particularly in the European and Asian markets. Leap Tiger has garnered a loyal customer base thanks to its excellent appearance, exceptional quality and smooth operation.
Liu asserted: “We are confident that the market performance of our electric pushbacks will see consistent growth in the coming years, as more airports embrace sustainable solutions and prioritise operation efficiency and environmental protection. Customers are particularly impressed by the performance of the unit: compared to their traditional 80V lithium tractors, our high voltage unit only needs to be charged every two or every three days, allowing similar to higher capacity as diesel units.
“We have conducted successful tests with our Tiger widebody pushback tractor in Europe, allowing us to sell it to key markets such as the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Poland. Our 50t pushback tractors is creating great interest from our customers, since we are among the first suppliers to offer high performance equipment for such heavy operations.”
GSE Expo Europe
At the GSE Expo Europe in Lisbon in September, Crespel added that TLD had seen significant traction in regards to TPX-200-MTX-E: “Seeing is believing, so customers now understand that it is a viable option.”
Customers and potential customers alike were thrilled to see the improvements Oshkosh AeroTech had made to LEKTRO 88i, to what it describes as a robust, market leading product and were delighted to have received particularly positive feedback with regards to
the various technological, operational, safety and maintenance improvements the company is making. Significant attention was also given to the new telematics capability.
“Expo attendees seemed to appreciate that not only are we bringing new products to the marketplace, but we are also investing
significantly to help our customers manage their equipment in new and more efficient ways. It’s all about making our customers more
successful, so this feedback is particularly valuable,” explained Lunt.
“The LEKTRO 88i is one of the most innovative pushback solutions available in the market today. In this redesign of the extremely popular legacy LEKTRO 88, our team of engineers focused on three key areas, prioritising quality of design, operational efficiency, and maintenance accessibility. One significant change is the move to more modern PLC logic which allows for telemetry integration through our iOPS platform. This means Oshkosh’s advanced connectivity solution will be available to accommodate different aspects of fleet
management.
Also, through PLC control, we’ve implemented features such as enhanced control functionalities, including slowed turns and accelerated winch-out capabilities. For maintenance and repair purposes, we’ve reconfigured the tractor with streamlined accessibility features and increased storage capacity by 27%. Furthermore, the LEKTRO 88i features AC drive motors, full compatibility with Lithium-ion batteries, and an enhanced drive/steering design.”
Oshkosh AeroTech has several units out for demo, including the LEKTRO 88i and electric pushbacks, providing potential customers with first-hand experience. Also, with the electric B250 and B650 models, the team has had the unique opportunity to demo the AmpCart product which provides charging for eGSE where more permanent solutions might not yet be available.
Guangtai showcased itself as a one-stop GSE provider at the Expo including charging infrastructure that is designed to meet the specific needs of various airports, such as mobile power banks and mobile energy storage system.
“At this year’s Expo, we obtained significant interest from many customers in our innovative solutions, leading to successful cooperation agreements with several clients. This positive response highlights the growing demand for sustainable and efficient airport operations, and we are excited to be at the forefront of this transformative movement in the GSE industry.”
Goldhofer exhibited the company’s flagship fully electric PHOENIX E and Sherpa E tractors at GSE Expo Europe. It showcased the latest battery capacity up to 240kWh of the PHOENIX E – now 50% higher than the previous model introduced three years ago. It can handle 70% of all passenger and cargo aircraft on the market today up to a maximum take-off weight of 352t.
Stavros Hatziioannou, VP Sales and Services Airport Technology, said: “The PHOENIX E is a complete successor of a diesel unit. There are no restrictions in comparison with a diesel unit, you can have the same performance like a diesel unit in terms of speed and in terms of aircraft and maintenance towing, which makes it easy for the customers to go electric, because they don’t have to adapt to many things except the charging infrastructure and strategy that they have to put in place.”
Speaking about the past year performance, he added: “It has been the most successful year in history. We finished our fiscal year in July this year, and we are very excited and very positive about the current fiscal year, which started in August, and expect this year to be one of the best years for us.”
Mototok generated significant interest at GSE Expo Europe with its remote controlled machines: the Spacer 8600 NG and other units (Twin 7500 NG and M 528).
“Spacer 8600 NG is for commercial aviation and is certified for four different aircraft types, which are the Airbus, B737s, the MHIRJs and Embraer aircraft,” said Billu Kler, Senior Manager, Business Development and International Sales at Mototok.
“This puts us in a really good position. The key benefits for us as a Mototok is that it is a small compact electric unit, which is a pure pushback machine which means all the energy is expended on doing an aircraft push as opposed to driving from A to B.”
He added training and maintenance is simple for operators. “The way it has been designed, it’s put together in a really systematic manner and we find the machine is so useful for managing the pushback and we are able to park at the stand without disrupting anything else.”
Mototok has had several trials in the USA with key airlines, for example, Air Canada, where the machines have added a lot of value to the business and made the pushback process very simple for them.
“As a result of this trial they have placed an order for a number of units with us and also we have live trials going on for American Airlines in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overall business has been good for 2024. The numbers have increased for the Spacer 8600 NG in commercial aviation so much so that we are looking to expand our production facility from 2025,” he said.
