The Romanian airline Tarom is one of the last European operators of the already rare Airbus A318 aircraft. This airline also takes issue with the pattern. Boeing 737-Max-8s are being brought in as replacements.

The Airbus A318 is the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family. In contrast to the A319/A320/A321, the “baby bus” was not at all a commercial success. Only 2001 examples were built between 2013 and 80. Now only Tarom and Air France have a few in their fleets in Europe. Furthermore, this type of machine is in demand as a VIP and government aircraft.

Air France has known for a long time that the Airbus A318 aircraft have an expiry date. A220s are gradually being introduced as replacements. Tarom, on the other hand, was quite silent until a few days ago when it came to the four remaining A318s. In any case, only two copies are in operational use because the other two have been parked for a long time.

The Romanian airline's board of directors has announced that it has signed a letter of intent that will lead to the fleet of two Boeing 737-Max-8s. The aim is to take delivery of the first example in August 2025 and gradually remove the last remaining A318s from the fleet.

This is surprising in a way, because in 2018 Tarom ordered a total of five Boeing 737-Max-8s directly from the manufacturer. The deliveries were postponed until 2026 because they should have been taken over long ago. The two B737-Max-8s that will be introduced next year are leasing aircraft.