On May 25th 1963, Czechoslovakia issued two stamps to honour the 40th anniversary of Czechoslovakian Airlines (CSA).  The two stamps issued represent the soviet influence on the countries airline operations.

Founded as Chechoslovak State Airlines (Ceskoslovenské Státní Aerolinie) during October 1923 the first flight of this fledgling airline was 321KM from Prague to Braislava.

In 1957 they entered the modern era of air transport when they began to operate the Tupolev 104A turbojet airliner.

TU-104A medium range transport two 9,700kg thrust Mikulin AM-3M-500 turbojets Maximum Speed: 950km/h (590mph) Service Cieling: 11,500m (32,810 ft) Range: 2,650km (1,647 miles)

Scott 1178, Stanley Gibbons 1361 - 80 Haleru

During 1960 CSA began operating the Ilyushin 18 long range turbo prop airliner.

IL-18 long range transport four 3169kw Ivchenko AI-20M turboprops Maximum Speed: 675km/h (419mph) Service Cieling: 10000m (32,810 ft) Range: 3,700km (2,299 miles)

Scott 1179, Stanley Gibbons 1362 - 1.80 Koruna

CSA continues to operate today as the state airline of the Czech Republic. Their current fleet includes some of the most modern aircraft available.

Sources:
David Donald ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, (Etobicoke: Prospero, 1997)
Year by Year Development of CSA. Czech Airlines. <http://www.csa.cz/en/czechia/cz_spolecnost/historie.htm>.
Czech Airlines. Wikipedia. 14 January 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Airlines>.