SAN FRANCISCO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Iceland's main airline, Icelandair, has taken delivery of the first Boeing 737 MAX airplane to expand its Boeing aircraft fleet for services across North America and Europe, U.S. aerospace giant Boeing Company announced Thursday.

The MAX series, which is a new and improved version of Boeing's 737 airplane, will join Icelandair's fleet of Boeing 757 and 767 jets to grow its trans-Atlantic operations.

Icelandair placed an order for 16 737 MAX models in 2013, including the MAX 8 and larger MAX 9 models.

Both airplanes offer airlines exceptional performance with lower seat-mile costs and more range, up to 6,510 kilometers, to open new routes profitably.

"The arrival of the new aircraft represents a milestone, the start of the renewal of our fleet which is an exciting undertaking for Icelandair," said Bjorgolfur Johannsson, president and CEO of Icelandair.

"The MAX will be an excellent addition to our fleet of Boeing 757's and 767's and increase both flexibility and capacity for the growth of our network, through added frequencies and new destinations," he added.

"The 737 MAX will complement Icelandair's trans-Atlantic operations, continuing to seamlessly link points between North America and Europe," said Monty Oliver, vice-president of Europe Sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes based in Seattle. Washington state on the U.S. west coast.

Boeing's data showed that the 737 MAX is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating more than 4,300 orders from 93 customers worldwide.