Lately, TAROM has become more and more in the spotlight. The latest rumors in the Romanian press are related to Airbus A310 aircraft and the price they could be sold. In a press release, TAROM denies the amount charged, but confirms the idea that it wants to drop the 2 A310 aircraft.
TAROM has two A310 aircraft, one in commercial configuration and one in VIP configuration, used since 2010 by the Presidential Administration of Romania. Both aircraft entered the TAROM fleet in 1992, following a controversial contract with Airbus. And now there are voices saying that Boeing would have had a much better offer, but officials in Bucharest, when he was Prime Minister Petre Roman, did not take this into account. At that time, an A310 cost over 100 millions of dollars.
At present, the two aircraft no longer economically justify their presence in the fleet. The very high costs of maintenance and airworthiness, seniority over 21 years, degree of wear, high fuel consumption, difficulty purchasing spare parts, just a few factors that show that the two A310 are no longer profitable.
Taking into account the history of these two aircraft and their difficult operation due to the very high costs, the management of TAROM company will establish a solution as soon as possible regarding the total elimination of the losses caused by them, the main solution considered being the sale. .
These aircraft are still being sold through 2004. If you keep in mind, at that time several auctions were held in which no one participated. The starting price had been set at 25 million dollars. Now, if they are to be sold, let us be satisfied with 4 million each.
TAROM, through Mr. Dan Pascariu, Chairman of the Board of Directors, for example, the sale of the German Chancellery's A310 aircraft. It was in a much better condition, with a much more complex configuration and was sold for only 3,1 million. The Germans were lucky!
As far as the presidential aircraft is concerned, TAROM will propose to the authorities a number of alternative solutions. I'm curious about these alternatives. TAROM no longer has long or very long aircraft.
The Airbus A310 is a twin-engine, medium and long-haul, two-color aircraft and can carry up to 240 passengers. The existing ones in the TAROM fleet are A310-300 models and have a flight range of up to 9600 km. Until 2003, these aircraft operated on the route Bucharest - New York. This was abandoned because it was not profitable, and competition increased.