The Romanian national carrier TAROM has put up for sale 14 of the 29 aircraft in its fleet, namely four Airbus A318s, four Boeing 737-700s, four 737-300s, and two of its seven ATR 42-500s.
TAROM will eventually keep only four 737-800s and four ATR 72-600s, thus both reducing and modernizing its fleet. It is also expecting five 737 MAX 8s, ordered in 2018 and to be delivered in 2023.
This fleet reduction is accompanied by a reduction of its workforce. TAROM has been experiencing significant financial difficulties for years that the current crisis caused by the pandemic deepened. On October 6, 2020, the European Commission approved €19.3 million of state aid as compensation for losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The airline hopes to convert the state aid it received into restructuring aid in order to “break even in 2025,” according to the Minister of Transport Cătălin Drulă. “The restructuring aid must be approved by the European Commission,” Drulă explained to local media Digi24. “This will be a big step, which if we pass, with professional management and the correct structure, it can become an efficient company.”