In 1906, in Paris, a Romanian, TRAIAN VUIA was the first to design and pilot a heavier-than-air flying machine able to take off without a catapult by entirely relying on his own engine.
In 1910, on Cotroceni field, near Bucharest, AUREL VLAICU made the first
public demonstration by flying his own designed and built airplane. In 1912,
another young and talented Romanian engineer named Henry Coanda designed the
first jet aircraft, thus anticipating by more than 30 years the first
commercial applications of the jet engine.
In 1920, the FRENCH-ROMANIAN COMPANY FOR AIR NAVIGATION (CFRNA) was founded.
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. In other words, the CFRNA was the first
operative Trans-continental airline in the history of aviation! In 1923
CFRNA made its first passenger international night flight, between Belgrade
and Bucharest.
In 1925 the first domestic Romanian route, Bucharest-Galati, was
experimentally opened. In 1926 CFRNA changed its name into "The
International Air Navigation Company" (CIDNA). Over the years, though
operating under different names, the French-Romanian Company continued its
activity. By 1930 LARES (The Romanian State-Owned Airlines) was established.
Seven years later, in 1937, LARES merged with SARTA (The Romanian Air
Transport Society Ltd.).
In 1954, September 18, TAROM (Romanian Air Transport) was founded. Six years
later, TAROM was operating to almost all European countries. In 1966 TAROM
flew its first flight across the Atlantic and had introduced by 1974
scheduled flights to New York. That same year, TAROM also inaugurated its
services to Beijing. Another first in 1974 was TAROM's maiden flight from
Bucharest to Sydney, via Calcutta.
Tarom Romanian Airline Destinations
AUSTRIA, Vienna
BELGIUM, Brussels
BULGARIA, Sofia
CYPRUS, Nicosia
CYPRUS, Larnaca
CZECH REPUBLIC, Prague
FRANCE, Paris
GERMANY, Frankfurt
GERMANY, Munich
GREECE, Athens
HUNGARY, Budapest
ITALY, Rome
ITALY, Milan
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, Chishinau
ROMANIA, Bucharest
SPAIN, Madrid
SWITZERLAND, Zurich
TURKEY, Istanbul
UNITED KINGDOM, London