Tarom seeks to hire 42 pilots

The biggest airline company on the Romanian market, Tarom,
wants to hire 42 pilots in order to cover this year’s flight
schedule, with pilots’ average gross salary amounting to 16,000 RON
(3,800 euros) per month, according to representatives of the
state-held company. “Tarom needs 235 pilots for 2010, qualified on
various types of aircraft. The company has 193 pilots at present.
The other pilots will be subcontracted for a limited period,” said
company representatives. Tarom, which carried 1.7 million
passengers last year, down 13% compared with the previous year,
operates a 22-aircraft fleet. In order to reach the necessary
number of pilots, Tarom will hire 10 graduates of the Romanian
Aviation Academy. Moreover, company representatives say Tarom will
hire another 15 pilots following a recruitment competition. The
competition is scheduled for the second half of February. Last year
saw six pilots come to Tarom from Blue Air, while two left for the
low-cost company, according to representatives of the two airlines.
Tarom officials say pilots moving from one carrier to another is
common practice. Adrian Ionascu, general manager of Blue Air, says
pilots have moved between the two big airlines ever since Blue
Air’s establishment. Tarom ended last year with revenues estimated
at 260 million euros and 21 million euros in estimated losses.