Ruxandra Brutaru ends her term as head of Tarom with 100m-euro losses

Ruxandra Brutaru, general manager of state airline Tarom resigned yesterday from the position she was appointed to in January 2009 by former transportation minister Radu Berceanu.

"We inform you that Brutaru resigned from her position for personal reasons. The resignation will become effective as of April 1st," said representatives of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI). Ruxandra Brutaru and Radu Berceanu could not be contacted for comment.

Asked by ZF if the head of Tarom had fulfilled her targets during her two-year term and how her results had been assessed, MTI officials did not send any answer.
In the space of the two years and two months of Ruxandra Brutaru's term, the state company recorded losses estimated at nearly 100 million euros in the past two years. Tarom posted a 193 million-euro turnover in 2009 and 55 million euros in losses, 34 times higher than in 2008.

In order to increase the number of passengers, Brutaru introduced prices similar to those of low-cost operators for a range of flights back in the spring of 2009, with the number of passengers reaching 2.2 million, 24% more than in the previous year, but the company did not manage to become profitable again.