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Interview: Dorin Ivascu – Mr. Fixit in Romanian Aviation

27/11/2013 by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

Dorin Ivascu – Mr. Fixit in Romanian Aviation

A Dutchman who lived in England moved to Romania as Production Director for a Public and Private Event company. What was the point of keeping his airplane, a Piper Seneca IV in the UK, when he lived 2000 km away? On a misty day he takes off from England for a 7 hour flight to what he called uncharted territory, Romania. In an article for his aviation club friends in the UK, he describes Dorin Ivascu, MD of Baneasa airport as his most important contact in Romania who always seem to have solutions for any problem that comes up and he writes: “Dorin must be Mr. Fixit in Romanian Aviation. He is also the FBO for Tuzla, the first licensed private strip on the black sea coast where you can learn to fly, parachute jump and admire the Romanian hippies at Vama Veche beach not far away. I truly recommend it! Come on European Union, break new ground, come and visit the new family member. People are friendly here, hospitable, and the young people speak good English…”

The year was 2007. But, who was this Mr. Fixit? Just to name a few things, Dorin Ivasco is Managing Partner of Regional Air Services , Owner of Tuzla Airport, President of Romanian Airport Services, President of Regional Air Support, President of the Romanian Association of Private Operators in Avi­ation (AROPA) and Board Member of APG, Air Promotion Group.

Dorin Ivascu was born in 1954, the year that Boeing tested the 707, the first jet-powered transport plane. His birth city Brasov, in the central part of Romania, was home of aircraft manufacturer IAR, Industria Aeronautică Română (Romani­an Aeronautic Industry), which produced numerous airplane types and also built helicopters. Now, it is called EC Roma­nia (Eurocopter Romania SA) and part of EADS. When Dorin grew up in Brasow, he was more interested international busi­ness and curious about foreign countries than aircraft, let alone airports. Brasov didn’t have an airport; now a brand new airport is under construction near the city.

 International Assignments

What better way to combine profes­sion and interest in foreign countries than working for an airline. Almost ten years, he worked for TAROM, Romania’s national airline. After his graduation in International Economic Relations (For­eign Trade) Dorin spend two years in all the economy departments of the airline. He was part of a team that focused on the UK charter market and created a special charter product called Holiday Class. And then in 1981, his first foreign assign­ment: Director of the TAROM office in Tripoli Libya; the company had leased three aircraft to Libyan Arab Airlines which helped TAROM tremendously to become efficient at that time.

Next, after two years, an international assignment as TAROM Director in Sin­gapore from where he suggested market­ing the airline in the whole region. His suggestion was agreed upon and soon thereafter he became in charge of South– East Asia and subsequently traveled a lot in the area.

In 1986 Dorin was appointed as Director for TAROM in UK. From his London office he succeeded to get the airline’s cargo planes leased to an UK carrier, three passenger planes to other British carriers, and last but not least he was behind the scenes seriously involved in the start-up of RyanAir by leas­ing three TAROM aircraft to them.

 Return to Romania

After six years abroad, Dorin came back to Romania. He switched from the private to the public sector as Chief of the International Division of the Civil Aviation Department and was put in charge of negotiating and finalizing the country’s air space agreements, over­flights and landing approvals, as well as handling the ICAO and all other interna­tional relations.

But Dorin’s years abroad weren’t quite over yet. TAROM needed him as Direc­tor for North America in New York where he successfully added another flight to the scheduleand increased the passenger numbers. But, that was the last assign­ment in a foreign country and and Dorin returned to Romania to stay and back in the function of Chief of the International Relations Division until 1989.

“You know one of the funniest things,” says Dorin with a big grin, “is that some people here seem to think that I was spy for Romania because I spend so much time abroad during the communist years, which was considered unusual and almost suspect. What they don’t seem to understand is that any internationally operating airline, then and now, has its professionals to represent them, handle the marketing and supervise operations at locations around the world. But…, if anyone wants to offer me a role in a James Bond film, I will consider doing it. I may not be as young and handsome as I was then, but Hollywood as my next interna­tional assignment? Why not?”

 New Business Opportunities

At the end of 1998 the communist re­gime fell and opportunities for private enterprise popped up. Travelling to many countries while working for the national airline gave Dorin the experience and confi­dence in international ways and rules of do­ing business. Three months after the fall of the old regime, Dorin and some former col­leagues from TAROM put their heads to­gether and thought of starting some kind of air taxi operation by using the aircraft of the former presidential fleet. There was an older inactive company called LAR, Liniiele Aer­ien Romane, that was revitalized and Dorin became the Director General of the new independent airline. A five-year lease for the government’s fleet was negotiated with the Air Force. They had no money on hand to start with but, with Dorin’s international management experience and his knowledge of economics, and of course hard work, they were able to make a $ 300,000 profit in the first year. They organized all government flights and a large number of private char­ter flights. The airline lasted for three years. Then, the military wanted its VIP fleet back and on their turn reorganized it into a new state-owned airline called Romavia.

At that time there was no other solution but to get reorganized. Dorin had become a modern style entrepreneur who would al­ways look for s business solutions and find new opportunities. For the time being, he was director of a new travel agency that was started in Bucharest and he was co-admin­istrator of a number of smaller companies in trading, accounting, auditing and capital investment. In 1996 the real opportunity and challenge came up. With the airport staff, a handling company was setup: Roma­nian Airport Services, first Romanian FBO, based at Baneasa Airport. With the city staff, a travel service was set up that became general sales agent (GSA) for several air­lines, and it also operates an IATA author­ised Training Center, as well as a Pilotshop. Romania Airport Services was created from scratch with just three employees; the han­dling company is now present on four Ro­manian airports and employs a staff of 120.

Ph.D. and Lecturer

Since 2001, he could be called Dr. Dorin Ivascu after completing his dissertation on “Product distribution in transports” which concentrated on the idea of distribution for inter-modal transports.

“Here I was, an active business man standing in the Aula of the Academy of Economic Sciences in Bucharest on their on the 100 year anniversary. In my faculty only 4 diplomas were awarded; the recipi­ents, two prestigious professors and two students, and I was one of them. It was an emotional moment for me and, of course, I felt proud. After all, at that time, I was already President of three companies and owner of an airport. I didn’t need study as a career builder. Because, I had my busi­ness obligations, the academic work took me almost five years to complete. For one I was committed to do this and secondly the thesis was on a subject that was dear to me.”

Dorin never made a big thing out of his academic title, no Dr. Dorin, he simply re­mained Dorin to all.

Long before, in 1978, he had graduated in International Economic Relations (For­eign Trade) at the

Academy of Economic Studies (ASE) in Bucharest. He was President of his faculty’s Student Union of 2,200 members. During summer breaks of the university, he worked as a guide and a clerk for the Romanian Au­tomobile Club and Hertz Rent-A-Car. That was Dorin, the student from then.

Now, for more years, Dr. Dorin Ivascu himself is lecturing “airline management “at the Polytechnic University Bucharest as well as “Logistics” at the Academy of Economic Sciences for Masters Degree coursework only.

 No Laughing Matter

Being successful, always having new ide­as and seeing business opportunities some­times results in being confronted by oppo­nents or competitors. Tuzla Airport is in the process of acquiring the “International” status and the procedure to obtain customs and emigration has been moving between government agencies for two years. Close to a favorable decision, it suddenly found the attention of some of the media but in a way that is no laughing matter. Dorin was accused of having relations to a company in Tanzania that may be involved trafficking of drugs and diamonds if one would believe these media reports.

“What happened is that my opponent ap­parently has hired a PR agency called AMI. I don’t know what went though their mind. But they must have been digging deep to find that there was also a company in Tan­zania by the name of Regional Air Services. I bet you, if you look long enough on the in­ternet, you will find more companies by that name; I just happen to know that there is also a Regional Air Services in Texas. I have no connection of any kind with either one. But just using a coincidental same name to create bad PR, I find quite unprofessional. Would I connect the PR company’s name AMI to the abbreviation of the Alliance of Mental Ill in the USA or Action on Mental Illness in Canada? I wouldn’t do that; that is silly! Actually, a friend of mine brought this to my attention. I can tell you that we laughed wholeheartedly about it.”

 Airport Owner

Nine years ago, Dorin and a partner bought into a former utilitarian aerodrome in Tuzla. They had four Antonov-2 aircraft and two Kamov-26 helicopters, all for ag­riculture purposes. They gave it an all-out effort and turned it into the first private airfield in Romania including parachuting school, flight school, company flying off shore, training center for sea survival and for rescue efforts by flight crews. Because of the oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea it is important to the oil companies to have an operation center for helicopter transpor­tation from and to drilling platforms. Tuzla would not need any runway expansion or a new control tower. It only needs the inter­national status and custom and immigra­tion agents on hand. The activities will have a tremendous positive economic impact on the surrounding communities. That is where economic rivalry comes into play.

“All through my life, I have tried to be constructive and to do more than was ex­pected from me. I was never keen on poli­tics,” Dorin says. “I have always appreciated proper business principles and a free mar­ket because it allows for things to be devel­oped as needed and results can come faster.” He was called Mr. Fixit others consider him to be a kind of guru in Romania’s aviation industry. “Nonsense, I’m a more down-to-earth person than most people think. Believe me that I have a heart in the right place. I’m a proud Romanian with a vision, and have the background and experience to determine what is right and good for the national aviation interests and how it fits in with international developments.”

Cdr. Bud Slabbaert