APRIL 2017 AviationPros.com 19
COVER STORY
Although the 250 model tug in LEK-
TRO's '89 series, debuted in 2016, the idea
for a tug that could handle the B757 and
smaller aircraft actually came about years
prior.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s LEK-
TRO customers were looking for a tug that
could handle a range of narrow-bodied and
regional aircraft, including the B757.
However, financial limitations brought
on by the terrorist attacks of September 11
th
and the economic slump in 2008 forced air-
lines to allocate their money elsewhere. As
a result, LEKTRO elected to postpone the
project.
Because of the hardships airlines were
facing, it appeared that the B757 would be
phased out of operation. However, when fuel
prices dropped, the economy picked up and
airlines began turning larger profits, the
Boeing 757 didn't go away. Instead, airlines
found that – while not the most efficient air-
craft – the B757 filled a "seat gap" between a
B737 or an Airbus A321 and a B767.
This lead to a need for the 8950-250,
which was then requested by United,
according to Paulson.
"The 757 wasn't a wide-body, but it was
an awful big narrow-body. So if you talked
to an airline, it kind of fell right in this
no-man's land," Paulson says. "There were
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