SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Fiji Airways Friday took the delivery of the first Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane in Seattle, Washington State, which makes it the first carrier in the Pacific Islands to operate such a model of single aisle aircraft.

U.S. top aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company said Fiji Airways plans to receive five MAX 8 airplanes, which are powered with the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines that are 14 percent more fuel efficient.

"We are thrilled to take delivery of our very first 737 MAX 8, named Island of Kadavu," said Andre Viljoen, managing director and CEO of Fiji Airways.

Compared to the previous 737 model, the MAX 8 has a maximum seat capacity of up to 178 passengers in a standard two-class configuration. It can fly 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 km), about 600 nautical miles (about 1,111 km) farther than its old-version peers.

Fiji Airways, with its headquarters at Nadi International Airport located by the coast on the western side of the main island Viti Levu in Fiji, serves 13 countries and 31 destinations or cities including Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands in Oceania, the United States, China's Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

As the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, the 737 MAX family has accumulated about 4,800 orders from more than 100 customers worldwide. Boeing has delivered over 200 737 MAX airplanes since May 2017.