CFRNA

The International Air Navigation Company
Founded1920, France
Commenced operations1920, France
Ceased operations7 October 1933 (1933-10-07)
(merged with Air Orient, Air Union, Aéropostale and SGTA to form Air France)
Operating basesParis, France
Bucharest, Romania
HeadquartersParis, France

CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; French: Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne; Romanian: Compania franco-română de navigație aeriană) was a FrenchRomanian airline, founded on 1 January 1920. Its name changed on 1 January 1925 to CIDNA ("The International Air Navigation Company"; French: Compagnie internationale de navigation aérienne).[1]

Using French-built Potez aircraft, the company provided passenger, mail and cargo transportation, by air, from Paris to Bucharest, via Strasbourg, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. As such, CFRNA was the first operative transcontinental airline in the history of aviation. The company also made the first passenger international night flight, between Belgrade and Bucharest in 1923. In 1925 CIDNA opened the first domestic Romanian route Bucharest – Galați, followed, from 24 June 1926, by an extended service to Iași and Chișinău and to Bălți.

In 1930, the Romanian arm adopted the name LARES [ro] (Liniile Aeriene Române Exploatate de StatRomanian Airlines Operated by the State), which further became TAROM.[2] The company ceased to exist when it became one of the constituting companies of Air France on 7 October 1933.

  1. ^ Damien Accoulon, "Construire l’alliance aéronautique en Europe médiane (1919-1932)", 20 & 21. Revue d'histoire, n°152, 2021/4, pp.15-33, https://doi.org/10.3917/vin.152.0015
  2. ^ "Airline companies in Rumania (1918–1945)". 17 June 2010.