This announcement less than six months after the company received certifications to tow the A318, the A319 and the A320. Now certified to tow the complete Airbus A320 family, and having been certified for the Boeing 737 family of aircraft, the AP8950SDB-AL-200 is thus approved to handle all major single aisle aircraft.
Capable of towing up to a 210,000 pound aircraft, the AP8950SDB-AL-200 was actually introduced in 2013, paving the way for LEKTRO to break into the major airline market. Not long after announcing the new tug, LEKTRO began an aggressive certification process with Airbus, ATR, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer, aimed at ensuring the new tug's success.
Interesting to note, during the certification process LEKTRO invented an automatic aircraft recognition system that senses the aircraft weight and adjusts the tug acceleration characteristics to eliminate nose gear stress. This will be a standard feature on all AP8950SDB-AL-200 tow vehicles.
Separately, LEKTRO has announced the sale of its 4,500th electric towbarless tow vehicle: this went to to Jet Aviation Dubai. The milestone purchase establishes LEKTRO's leadership in the aircraft towing industry as having sold more towbarless tractors than any other company in the world.
