February 19 (SeeNews) - Romanian flag carrier Tarom said on Wednesday that it has received the first ATR 72-600 aircraft of a batch of nine it leased in December.
Tarom is currently the only airline in Romania using an aircraft of this type, it said in a press release.
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In December, the transport ministry announced that Tarom has signed a contract to lease nine ATR aircraft in order to replace seven old planes.
According to the schedule announced at the time, the airline is to receive four of the nine new ATR 72-600s by the end of February, while the rest will be delivered by the end of 2020.
The lease is signed for a period of ten years. The new ATRs will not result in additional operating costs and will increase Tarom's transport capacity. The new ATR-72-600 aircraft have 72 seats each.
Earlier this month, Tarom announced that it has put up for sale nine ATR 42-500 aircraft for a total of $32.26 million (29.5 million euro).
Tarom is operating on international and domestic routes with a fleet of 25 aircraft - seven ATR-42-500, two ATR-72, 4 Boeing 737-700, 4 Boeing 737-300, 4 Boeing 737-800 NG, and 4 Airbus A318-111.
Tarom narrowed its net loss to 171.4 million lei ($39 million/ 36 million euro) in 2019, from 182.7 million lei in 2018. Tarom's 2019 turnover is estimated at 1.51 billion lei, up from 1.4 billion lei in 2018, according to preliminary company data published in Romania's official gazette.
Last year was Tarom's 12th straight year of annual loss.
The government said in January that it has approved a 195 million lei rescue plan for Tarom.
(1 euro = 4.78 lei)