National airline Tarom may go into the black one year later than initially planned (2005), because of the Iraq war and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the company's general manager Ioan Lixandru said.
"We were supposed to cut losses down to $19.5 million this year. Following the war in Iraq and the breakout of the SARS virus, we met the full-year loss target after only four months. Under the circumstances, it is obvious we are unlikely to achieve our target by yearend," Ioan Lixandru, general manager of Tarom, said.
Aurelia Fulger, marketing and sales director of the company, shares the same opinion.
"We managed to improve the situation in May and June and even saw an increase in July, August and September, when we reported a boarding rate exceeding 70%. I hope we will succeed in keeping losses down to $30 million by the end of the year," Fulger mentioned.
Therefore, the Romanian airline will postpone profitability by at least one year. "We are likely to cut losses next year, down to the level estimated for this year, which means we will go into the black somewhere around 2006," Lixandru added.
Still, the company's sales surged in the first half this year, while the increase is expected to maintain. "We sold tickets totaling over $130 million in the first six months, thus we hope to exceed $250 million for the full year," Tarom's marketing director explained.
Last year, Tarom flew one million passengers and the sold tickets worth some $200 million, whereas losses accounted for more than $25 million.
Tarom had logged losses worth over $38 million in 2001, down from the previous year when it had lost $62 million.
However, the national airline's salvation may come from the foreign partners. "I think we may join the Sky Team alliance next year. We are a small operator and our hope lies with the powerful companies," Lixandru also said. ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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