Romania's flag carrier Tarom is reportedly going to discontinue flights to London (Heathrow) next year, according to Radio Free Europe Romania, which published an analysis about the national airline.

The air carrier reached its 17th CEO in 7 years, keeps posting losses and received EUR 120 million in state aid.

With a fleet of only 18 aircraft, which could soon remain at 10, Tarom is dropping more and more destinations. By December 1989, it had more than 60 aircraft, regular flights to far-flung destinations - Montevideo, New York, Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Calcutta and Singapore, and its technicians and pilots were admired around the world.

Thirty-four years on, the company is barely surviving in an increasingly competitive, burgeoning market. It's selling planes and not buying new ones, it's losing valuable employees to better-paying commercial companies, and the number of flights is falling year after year. And it sinks into debt.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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