Tarom: never-ending story of losses and resignations

The unexpected resignation of Tarom’s manager Alexandru Szlivka throws the national air carrier – in the red for many years, into an unstable situation. “Personal reasons” have prompted three general managers of the company to quit in the last four years. About to leave the company, Alexandru Szlivka passes the negotiations for joining the Sky Team alliance to his successors, as this may be the company’s only chance for survival.
“The national air carrier has but one chance – to become part of an important alliance like Sky Team,” Alexandru Szlivka says. Szlivka had been appointed Tarom general manager last fall.
“Negotiations with major international operators have been attempted since last year, with the Americans, such as TWA or American Airlines being preferred. When I was appointed to head Tarom, I thought the European operators, especially those in the Sky Team alliance were a much better opportunity and I kicked off negotiations with them,” Szlivka says. According to the former Tarom manager, the most difficult step of negotiations was overcome last week when an audit team comprising six representatives from Air France and two from Alitalia checked the regulations and manuals used by the Romanian operator.
“If everything goes well, Tarom could profit from this alliance in two seasons from now, that is the summer of 2003,” Szlivka added.
He says the benefit of joining such an alliance is the increase in the number of destinations, which results in a loss cut.
Established in the summer of 2000, the Sky Team air carriers alliance currently comprises six members: Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, Delta, CSA Czech Airlines and Korean Air. It operates approximately 8,000 flights a day to more than 500 destinations in 114 countries. It is the only commercial air traffic alliance that benefits from anti-trust immunity for both the transatlantic and transpacific flights, which allows its members to provide clients with an integrated service network, as well as an efficient flight co-ordination and competitive tariffs.