TAROM, Romania’s national carrier, is planning to start a courier service to London as soon as August, as the airline eyes longer-term development plans for its cargo division.
“One month maybe,” Loredana Ristache, Cargo Marketing and Sales Manager of Tarom, told Air Cargo Week.
What is being considered is a proposal limited to parcels under 32 kilogrammes, although they could cover any type of goods, including “biological” goods and valuables.
“We are trying to develop the business utilising our short transfer time – That’s quite the selling point for us,” Ristache said.
The product offering is part of an overhaul of what the Romanian national carrier offers on its cargo side, currently made up of a limited fleet of 18 planes that travel to a small number of destinations.
“We are trying to expand our network of cargo sales agents, as we collaborate with airline partners in order to expand our market” Ristache added.
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One region Tarom is eyeing in particular is Asia. Firstly, Taiwan – Not only is a GSSA being appraised in the area but talks are underway with one of the island’s most significant carriers – China Airlines.
In India, things are not so forward with TAROM defining the current position as research, rather than deal-making. “We are trying to get some agreement for the Indian market, targeting a mix of general goods and leathers and textiles.”
There is another toehold in the South Asian market under active consideration, as due diligence is being done with Flydubai, allowing TAROM to access cargo volumes from India and Pakistan.
Currently, what Tarom moves as a cargo carrier tends to be defined by the destination. Perishables are one of the main three, with shellfish farmed in Bulgaria – especially mussels – being strong sellers in Spain. Spare parts to Tel Aviv is another niche. The rest is made up of pharmaceuticals and biological products for France and Belgium, as well as textiles to Paris and Bucharest.
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Two factors potentially limit TAROM’s dreams of plentiful connections to the United States and Asia. As mentioned, the carrier only possesses a small fleet of just eighteen aircraft: six ATR72s, eight B737s, four -800NGs and four -700s. These planes have a capacity of around one tonne, whilst the -800s offer three tonnes.
“There is a problem of space on the plane,” she emphasised. However, things look set to improve next year in December 2025, when two significantly larger Boeing 737 Max aircraft join the TAROM fleet, offering around five tonnes of capacity each.
On top of this, the destinations roster is limited and rather historical, driven by passengers, limiting the national carrier to European destinations such as Madrid, Frankfurt, Heathrow and Paris, as well as Middle Eastern offers such as Cairo, Tel Aviv and Amman.
Ultimately, what Tarom really offers is not so much connections to major European hubs or some Middle Eastern cities but good services within Romania. These includes up-and-coming cities Timisoara (and Arad) and Cluj-Napoca, sometimes twice a day. Its real benefit for the short term at least is not so much filling in well established routes but serving cities within Romania.
