“The national company grew on the market, developed its fleet, increased its route portfolio and successfully reconnected by air all regions of the country in the year Romania celebrated its 100th anniversary. These steps along with a proactive presence on the market led to the rise in passenger traffic,” the officials of the company told ZF.
Average load factor was 74% last year compared with 70% in 2017, they added.
Tarom added two aircraft in June. It opened 15 new routes last year. It reopened Eastern routes with flights to Odessa, Tbilisi, Yerevan and Baku. It resumed flights to Cairo after a decade-long hiatus. Targu-Mures was the last of the six domestic destinations Tarom opened in 2018.
ZF also requested information about the revenue or profit/losses in 2018, but the officials of the company said the results were not done yet.
Its competitors are budget airlines Wizz Air, the leader of the local market, Blue Air and Ryanair. Wizz Air carried 6.8 million people in 2017, 28% more than in 2017, and its 2018 target was 8.8 million, as the growth of the air travel market continued. Blue Air, the second leading airline, carried more than 5 million people in 2017, up from 3.6 million in 2016 and announced growth for 2018.
Tarom ended 2017 with 172 million lei (EUR37 million) losses, up from the RON46 million the previous year, according to Finance Ministry data.(EUR1=RON4.6722)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)