Romania's national carrier TAROM has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-8, marking the entry of the 737 MAX family into the country and a key step in the airline's fleet renewal programme, Boeing said in a statement.

The aircraft, delivered by Boeing in partnership with lessor CDB Aviation, is the first of two 737-8s that TAROM is leasing to modernise its single-aisle fleet, which currently comprises four Boeing 737 Next-Generation jets, according to the statement issued Friday.

"The addition of the first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to the TAROM fleet is a pivotal moment in the company's transformation process," TAROM chief executive Cristian Anghel said, adding that fleet renewal was central to the airline's restructuring plan and would help it deliver "a superior travel experience" to passengers.

Anghel noted that the aircraft carries the name of Mircea Lucescu, the veteran Romanian football manager, calling it a symbolic gesture tied to "performance, discipline, and trust."

Boeing said the 737 MAX would cut fuel use and carbon emissions by 20 percent compared with the aircraft it replaces, and that TAROM plans to deploy the type on routes linking Bucharest with major European capitals.

Gavan Daly, CDB Aviation's head of commercial for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said the delivery reflected the lessor's "long-standing partnership with Boeing," while Mario Antonio Ebcim, Boeing's sales director for Eurasia and India, said the milestone showed the airline's "trust... in the 737 family."

Citing its 2026 Commercial Market Outlook, Boeing projected that airlines in the Eurasia region will need to expand their combined in-service fleet from roughly 6,800 aircraft today to nearly 11,000 by 2045, with single-aisle jets such as the 737 MAX accounting for about 81 percent of new deliveries to the region.

TAROM, founded in 1954 and operating under Romania's transport ministry, flies a fleet of 10 aircraft to more than 50 destinations and has belonged to the SkyTeam alliance since 2010, per the statement. CDB Aviation is an Irish-based subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing.

Source: PR