TAROM facts for kids

"Tarom" redirects here. For other uses, see Tarom (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
TAROM — Romanian Air Transport
*TAROM — Transporturile Aeriene Române*

Founded	As CFRNA on 1 January 1920; 105 years ago (1920-01-01) As TAROM on 18 September 1954; 70 years ago (1954-09-18)
AOC #	RO-001
Hubs	Henri Coandă International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Flying Blue
Alliance	SkyTeam
Fleet size	18
Destinations	28
Headquarters	Otopeni, Ilfov County, Romania
Key people	Costin Iordache, CEO (acting)
Revenue	315 million € (2019)
Operating income	-35.8 million € (2019) (estimated)
Website	tarom.ro

TAROM is Romania's national airline and the oldest airline still flying in the country. Its main base is at Henri Coandă International Airport near Bucharest. TAROM is the biggest airline in Romania for international flights and destinations. It is also the second largest based on how many planes it has and how many passengers it carries.

The name TAROM is a short way of saying "Transporturile Aeriene Române," which means "Romanian Air Transport." The Romanian Government owns most of TAROM (over 97%). In 2018, the airline flew almost 2.75 million passengers. TAROM joined the SkyTeam airline alliance on June 25, 2010.

A Brief History of TAROM
How TAROM is Run
Where TAROM Flies
- Airline Partnerships (Alliances)
- Shared Flights (Codeshare Agreements)
TAROM's Fleet (Planes)
- Current Planes
- Future Plans for the Fleet
Incidents and Accidents
Images for kids
See also

A Brief History of TAROM

TAROM's story began in 1920 with a company called CFRNA (French-Romanian Company for Air Navigation). This company started flying passengers and mail between Paris and Bucharest. They used French-built Potez 15 planes. In 1925, Galați became the first city in Romania to have regular flights.

Early Years and Name Changes

In 1928, the airline changed its name to SNNA (The National Service of Air Navigation). Later, in 1930, it became LARES (Romanian Airlines Operated by the State). In 1937, LARES joined with another airline called SARTA.

After World War II

After World War II, in 1945, the airline was reorganized and named TARS (Romanian-Soviet Air Transport). This company was owned by both the Romanian and Soviet governments. Domestic flights within Romania started in 1946.

In 1954, the Romanian government bought the Soviet share of the company. On September 18, 1954, the airline officially became TAROM. By 1960, TAROM was flying to many cities across Europe. Its first flight across the Atlantic Ocean happened in 1966. In 1974, TAROM started regular flights to New York City.

For a long time, TAROM mostly used planes made in the Soviet Union. These included planes like the Ilyushin Il-18 and Tupolev Tu-154. However, in 1968, TAROM bought six British-made BAC One-Eleven planes. In 1974, they also got American-made Boeing 707 aircraft for long-distance flights. By the late 1970s, TAROM had one of the largest fleets in Eastern Europe, with 59 planes.

The 1990s and Beyond

After the Romanian Revolution in 1989, TAROM started buying more Western-built planes. In 1992, they bought three Airbus A310 planes. By 1993, TAROM had flights to Montreal and Bangkok. During the 1990s, TAROM replaced its older Boeing 707s and Ilyushin Il-62s with Airbus A310s.

In the early 2000s, TAROM stopped flying to some far-away places like Bangkok, Montreal, Chicago, Beijing, and New York City. This was to help the airline become profitable again. They focused on flights within Europe and the Middle East. In 2004, TAROM had its first profitable year in a decade.

A major upgrade of the fleet began in 2006. TAROM bought new Airbus A318s, Boeing 737-800s, and ATR 72-500s. In 2010, TAROM joined the SkyTeam alliance, which is a group of airlines that work together. In 2016, TAROM stopped using its Airbus A310 planes. They started getting newer Boeing 737-800s in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, TAROM decided to lease new ATR 72-600 planes to replace their older ATR models.

Recent Times (2020s)

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 greatly affected TAROM. They temporarily stopped all regular flights. However, they did operate special flights for the Romanian Government to bring medical supplies. Regular flights slowly started again in May 2020.

In 2021, TAROM's CEO mentioned that none of the airline's current routes were making a profit. In 2022, there were reports that Henri Coandă International Airport might take legal action against TAROM for unpaid fees.

How TAROM is Run

TAROM is mostly owned by the Romanian Government through its Ministry of Transport. Other smaller parts are owned by the Bucharest Airports National Company and ROMATSA R.A. (Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration).

Business Performance

Here's a quick look at how TAROM has been doing over the years:

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Money Made (€m)	256	239	255	306	315
Profit (€m)	−6.2	−10.5	−37.7	−27.5	−35.8
Number of Employees	1,880	1,841	1,776	1,773	1,750
Passengers (millions)	2.39	2.41	2.34	2.85	3.12
Planes (at year end)	23	21	23	25	25
Notes/sources

Logo and Plane Colors

The TAROM logo used in the 1970s and 1980s.

The TAROM logo until 2015.

The TAROM logo shows a swallow flying. This logo has been on all TAROM planes since 1954. The planes usually have a dark blue color on their tail and engines.

Each plane in the TAROM fleet gets a special name, usually a Romanian place name. For example, ATR planes are named after Romanian rivers, and Boeing planes are named after Romanian cities.

In 2009, for the airline's 55th birthday, a Boeing 737-700 plane was painted to look like TAROM's very first planes from the 1950s.

TAROM Technical Division

TAROM has a special department that takes care of its planes and also helps other airlines. This department does many things like:

Fixing planes when they break down.
Doing regular check-ups on planes.
Repairing spare parts for aircraft.

The main work is done in a large hangar built between 1969 and 1972. It's a huge space, about 6,000 square meters. This hangar can work on 3 to 6 planes at the same time. The staff there are highly trained and licensed to work on all types of planes in TAROM's fleet.

Where TAROM Flies

TAROM flies to about 50 places in 22 countries. These include destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. They also fly to 8 cities within Romania.

TAROM stopped flying directly to the USA in 2003. Now, if you want to fly to the USA with TAROM, you would connect through Paris with their partner airline, Air France.

Airline Partnerships (Alliances)

TAROM is a full member of SkyTeam. This is a big group of airlines that work together to offer more destinations and easier travel for passengers. For example, if you fly with TAROM, you can earn and use frequent flyer miles with other SkyTeam airlines like Air France and KLM.

Shared Flights (Codeshare Agreements)

TAROM also has special agreements called "codeshare agreements" with other airlines. This means that two or more airlines can sell seats on the same flight. It helps passengers have more choices for flights.

Air Europa
Air France
Air Serbia
airBaltic
Bulgaria Air
Czech Airlines
ITA Airways
KLM
Middle East Airlines
Turkish Airlines

TAROM's Fleet (Planes)

Current Planes

As of April 2024, TAROM has these planes:

TAROM fleet
Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers			Notes
Aircraft	In service	Orders	C	Y	Total	Notes
Airbus A318-100	4	—	14	99	113	These planes will be replaced by Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
ATR 72-500	2	—	—	68	68
ATR 72-600	4	3	—	72	72
Boeing 737-700	4	—	14	102	116	These planes will be replaced by Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Boeing 737-800	4	—	16	144	160
Boeing 737-800	4	—	—	189	189
Boeing 737 MAX 8	—	7	TBA			Expected to be delivered starting August 2025.
Total	18	10

Future Plans for the Fleet

TAROM Airbus A318-100

TAROM Boeing 737-800

TAROM ATR 72-600 at Bucharest Air Show 2022.

TAROM plans to replace its older ATR planes with newer ATR 72-600 aircraft. They are also looking to get more Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes. These new planes will replace the older Airbus A318s and Boeing 737-700s.

Incidents and Accidents

Aviation safety is very important. Here are some notable incidents involving TAROM aircraft:

On November 4, 1957, an Ilyushin Il-14P crashed near Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, killing four people.
On February 24, 1962, an Ilyushin Il-18V lost power in all its engines over the Mediterranean Sea. The pilots managed to land the plane safely in a field in Cyprus, and all 100 people survived.
On June 16, 1963, a VEB 14P crashed in Hungary due to engine problems, killing all 31 people on board.
On October 9, 1964, an Ilyushin Il-14P broke apart in the air and crashed in Romania, killing all 31 people.
On August 11, 1966, a Lisunov Li-2 crashed in the Lotrioara Valley, killing all 24 people on board.
On February 4, 1970, an Antonov An-24 crashed into a mountain, killing 20 of 21 people.
On December 29, 1974, an Antonov An-24 crashed into the Lotrului mountains, killing all 33 people on board.
On August 7, 1980, a Tupolev Tu-154B-1 landed in the water short of the runway in Mauritania. All 168 people survived, though one passenger died from a heart attack.
On September 5, 1986, an Antonov An-24 caught fire while landing, killing three crew members. All 50 passengers survived.
On December 28, 1989, an Antonov An-24 was shot down by a missile during the Romanian Revolution, killing all seven people on board.
On August 13, 1991, TAROM Flight 785A, an Ilyushin Il-18, crashed in the Retezat Mountains, killing all 9 people on board. The official cause was pilot error.
On September 24, 1994, TAROM Flight 381, an Airbus A310, suddenly went nose-up and stalled. The pilots were able to regain control and land safely.
On March 31, 1995, TAROM Flight 371, an Airbus A310, crashed near Balotești due to a problem with the throttles and the flight crew's inability to recover. All 60 people on board died.
On December 30, 2007, TAROM Flight 3107, a Boeing 737-300, hit a car on the runway while taking off. No passengers were injured, but the plane was badly damaged.
On July 9, 2019, an ATR 42-500 burst its tires while landing due to the parking brakes being engaged. No passengers were injured.