Romanian flag carrier TAROM has received its first Boeing 737 MAX 8, an aircraft leased from CDB Aviation and registered YR-BGO. Three more examples of the type are planned for the airline.
The aircraft arrived at Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport after a delivery flight from Seattle with a stop in Keflavik, Iceland. TAROM presented the jet on September 12.
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YR-BGO, MSN 60196, was named Mircea Lucescu after the Romanian football coach and former player. The aircraft is the first of two 737-8s that CDB Aviation will supply to TAROM, with the second scheduled for delivery this autumn.
TAROM said the four 737-8s will be acquired through operating and financial leasing arrangements. The airline has not disclosed the source of the other two aircraft.
Earlier MAX order
The arrival comes eight years after TAROM first committed to the 737 MAX. In July 2018, the airline placed a firm order with Boeing for five 737 MAX 8s, with deliveries then scheduled to begin in 2023.
Those aircraft did not enter service as planned. TAROM subsequently underwent a restructuring process that included reductions in its workforce, network and aircraft inventory.
The current four-aircraft plan therefore differs from the five-jet Boeing order announced in 2018. The first two aircraft are being introduced through CDB Aviation rather than delivered directly under that original agreement.
Boeing has not clarified the current status of TAROM's 2018 order in its announcement of the latest delivery.
737 fleet
The 737-8 joins older Boeing narrowbodies already operated by TAROM. The carrier has 737-700s and 737-800s, alongside ATR 72-600 turboprops used on shorter routes.
TAROM also operated four Airbus A318s, a type that became increasingly rare in commercial service. The Romanian airline retired its final A318 in 2024, leaving Boeing 737s as its only jet aircraft until the arrival of the MAX.
The new aircraft is TAROM's first 737 MAX, but not the first of the type operated by a Romanian airline. Blue Air received its first 737 MAX 8 in 2021 and operated the model before suspending flights in September 2022.
