Knowing that operational towing has been looked at for several years now, I initially brushed off the idea when it came up again in our company.
However, with rising fuel cost AND *possibly more stringent environmental laws* in the future, the idea definitely needs to be reviewed.
I agree that it may make no sense at most airports due to short taxi times (just covering heat up period for the engines) - but looking at taxi times of more than 2hrs in JFK, I think it would make sense there.
One thing that we need to look at from the engineering point of view for current designs: In what way will op. towing affect the nuts and bolts, in particular the NLG support structure? Keep in mind that youŽll tow airplanes around MTOW longer, faster and more often than today...
Oh, BTW: Any flight crew having (legal) objections against a tractor driver towing them around the planet...?
Cheers,
J. V.