Airlines in Romania
The foundation of civil aviation in Romania may be traced back to 23 April 1920, and the formation of the CFRNA (Compagnie Franco-Roumaine de Navigation Aerienne), financed initially with money put up by a Romanian bank. Using SEA VII biplanes (civil conversions of the SEA IV observation airplane), CFRNA began flights to Warsaw, Strasbourg, Prague, Budapest, and Bucharest, extending the route to Constantinople in October 1921. By this time the company owned nearly a hundred aircraft (SEA VIIs, Spad 33s, 46s, and Potez IXs), and in 1924 seven passenger Caudron C.61 trimotors were also introduced. The following year the company changed its name to CIDNA (Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aerienne), and this operated a miscellany of types until 1929, when it standardized on the Fokker F.VIIb.
In the meantime, the French Potez Company, which had strong associations in Romania, had founded an internal there, known as SARTA; this was taken over by the Romanian government in 1935 and a national airlines, LARES, was founded. This operated services to Athens, Milan, Berlin and Warsaw until 1941, using aircraft that ranged from Douglas DC-2s to Savoia-Marchetti S.71s
