Cerverana (airline)

Sindicato Nacional Cerverana de Aviación (: Cerveran National Aviation Corporation), commonly known as Cerverana, is the  and largest airline of Cervera. Founded in 1928, the airline came under government control following the Directivist Revolution and acquired a near monopoly on domestic air traffic through forced mergers and acquisitions, while expanding its footprint in Avalonia to become one of the dominant airlines of the continent. Wholly owned by the Cerveran government and managed under the Directorate of Transportation, Cerverana is not a member of any but operates codeshare agreements with LAIJ and Arbenzo de Aviación among others.

Cerverana's home base is at Matanzas Raul Garcia International Airport, the country's largest by volume, where it holds two terminals and controls nearly 75% of available slots; a second hub at Puerto Fortuna International Airport catering to Avalonian tourist traffic was opened in 1996. Focus cities of Niguernon and Yivanna augment this trans-Ingonian business model.

History
The first fare-paying commercial flights in Cervera began in 1919, when a seaplane service between Puerto Fortuna and the resort island of Captiva began operation. Though popular among the upper classes, internal instability and mounting debts forced this early attempt at an airline to fold by 1922. Renewed interest in a national airline began in the waning days of the SiWallqanqa occupation and Sindicato Nacional Cerverana de Aviación was founded in October 1927 using repurposed military transport and training aircraft for passenger service and air mail delivery. The onset of the Directivist Revolution early the following year curtailed these activities once more, with several Cerverana aircraft being reclaimed by both Republican and Directivist military forces throughout the conflict.

At the conclusion of major hostilities in 1931, Cerverana was nationalized by the nascent Directivist government and resumed domestic passenger and mail service with surviving SiWallqanqan aircraft as well as newly-purchased Jungastian models. International service was slow in coming owing to the international community's reluctance to recognize the Directivist regime, but by the 1940s routes had been established to Theyka, Zahava and Koryeo as well as the Vasconcelos Islands of Jungastia.

The 1950s saw the dawn of the Jet Age coincident with a general thaw in relations between the Directorate and outside world, culminating in the establishment of trans-Iapetus routes to Santo Andre, Teutonia and Tiperyn and later as far as Aftarestan and Ringerike. Despite these successes, a series of accidents in the mid-1950s caused by the then little-known phenomena of damaged Cerverana's reputation abroad and led to declines in transcontinental traffic into the 1960s.

In 1973, Cerverana reached the zenith of its international coverage with the opening of a trans-Tethys flight to Sukhbataar, Selengeria, the first of a number of planned flights to eastern Kesh on the trans-Tethys approach. Shifting economic conditions stymied these ambitions, however, and led to a gradual drawdown of transcontinental traffic which had never firmly established its profitability. By 1990, only nine Keshite and Artemian countries contained destinations for Cerverana, from a high of twenty-two in 1974.

The 1980s represented a low point for Cerverana as shifting economic conditions, unrest in Avalonia and the 1983 Chezzetcook War all contributed to a steep decline in both domestic and international air travel. Extensive damage to airport facilities at Puerto Fortuna and Bayamo from the failed invasion further reduced operating capacity, resulting in much of the fleet being mothballed or wet-leased to Aftarestan, Yarova and Hydar among others. Rebuilding would be complete by 1989 as the economy rebounded, though Cerverana would re-emerge with a much depleted global profile and smaller fleet as surplus aircraft were subsequently sold to balance the books.

The 1990s saw perhaps the most dramatic restructuring of the airline in its existence, as the Directorate of Transportation absorbed the Directorate of Tourism and merged its functions into the Cerverana Excursiones and Cerverana Privado agencies as subsidiaries of the airline in 1991. Spurred by visa reforms as part of a greater drive to capture hard currency via foreign tourism, these agencies allowed tourists to purchase prepackaged or bespoke tours including meals, hotel, visa and airfare from a single point of purchase. The Salto.cv marque was launched in 1996, focusing on low-cost travel from within Avalonia and operating out of the newly reconstructed Puerto Fortuna International Airport.