Demetriade was appointed Tarom CEO Friday. He is also a member in the company’s Executive Board and served as general manager of Tarom between 2001 and 2002.
“We target to render the company profitable before the end of 2015 but there is a chance to switch to profit this year,” Demetriade said, adding he would collaborate closely with the company’s general manager Christian Heinzmann.
Heinzmann, a Belgian citizen with over 25 years experience in the aviation industry, took over as Tarom general manager in November 19, 2012 and his aim was to bring the company in green by 2015. Demetriade said his appointment was made to fasten the process.
Tarom registered loss of RON64 million in the first five months, down 45% from RON116 million in the similar interval a year ago.
The company registered loss of RON236 million in 2012. The management plan approved by the executive board in March states loss of RON143 million this year and of RON18 million in 2014. The company is expected to switch to profit of RON92 million in 2015 and of RON173 million in 2016.
Tarom also aims to increase the number of passengers from 2.3 million in 2013 to 2.6 million in 2016.
The company is controlled by the Transport Ministry, which selected in July 2012 the consortium PwC/D&B David and Baias/George Butunoiu to recruit private general managers and managing board members for the companies under its authority with turnovers higher than EUR7.3 million.