SITA (company)

SITA is a multinational information technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry. The company provides its services to over 430 members and 2,800 customers worldwide which is around 90% of the world's airline business.

History

SITA or Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, was founded in February 1949 by eleven airlines in order to bring about shared infrastructure cost efficiency by combining their communications networks. The eleven original airlines were: Air France, KLM, Sabena, Swissair, TWA, British European Airways Corporation (BEAC), British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), British South American Airways (BSAA), Swedish A.G.Aerotransport, Danish Air Lines, and Norwegian Air Lines. SITA was the first company to handle data traffic in real time via a packet switched network over common carrier leased lines.

Expansion

In 1989 computer reservations systems, aerospace manufacturers, tour operators, airfreight forwarders, airport authorities, and other organizations in the air transport industry began joining SITA as members. The company today provides a range of IT solutions as well as infrastructure and communication services for the air transport industry, having evolved from its early days of providing only network related services.

SITA presently operates in over two hundred countries and territories, and its customers include airlines, airports, airfreight â€" international freight forwarders, travel and distribution â€" global distribution systems, governments, aerospace, ground handlers and air traffic control.

Company structure

SITA is owned by members of the air transport industry, who make up the SITA Board and SITA Council. The company has the remit of working with the air transport community for the benefit of all members. This includes cooperation with industry bodies, such as IATA, ACI and regional associations, aiming to solve common industry issues through the use of IT and telecommunication services, through development of community systems, industry standards and shared infrastructures for aviation. SITA also produces industry surveys including the Airline IT Trends, Airport IT Trends and Passenger IT Trends Surveys, as well as working jointly with IATA on the industry’s Baggage Report.

Subsidiaries

SITA has five main subsidiaries.

SITAONAIR

Launched in 2005, OnAir provides on-board connectivity solutions that enable passengers to connect to the Internet on devices such as laptops and smartphones as well as make and receive phone calls and text message; and access to wireless in-flight entertainment. OnAir combined with SITA's Aircraft business in 2015 to provide aircraft e-enablement services and is known as SITAOnAir.

CHAMP Cargosystems

CHAMP is an IT company working solely in the air cargo industry, providing services for carriers and distributors. In November 2011, CHAMP acquired TRAXON Europe, an electronic air cargo company, in order to prepare for new International Air Transport Association (IATA) initiatives such as IATA e-freight and Cargo iQ.

Aviareto

Aviareto is a joint venture between SITA and the Irish government. Aviareto and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Supervisory Authority of the International Registry, agreed that Aviareto would establish and operate the International Registry of Mobile Assets.

Com-Net Software

Com-Net Software is a turnkey provider of comprehensive passenger communication solutions with more than 170 systems installed across six continents.

SITA Bureau Services

In partnership with CANSO and Airways, SITA Bureau Services (SBS) brings Flightyield to market â€" an invoicing, collection and revenue management service for ANSPs and airports.

Products and services

SITA's portfolio services include:

• Airport operations, including airport management, safety and security, and passenger processing
• Aircraft operations, including operational communications, e-Aircraft services (for EFBs), and in-flight communications
• Baggage operations
• Cargo operations
• Commercial management, including distribution, fares and pricing, revenue optimization, and voice and convergence
• Communications and infrastructure, including hybrid networks, airport operational communications, community messaging, and infrastructure management
• Passenger operations
• Transportation security, including border management

SITA's shared infrastructures include Airport Hubs, AirportConnect, CUTE and BagMessage Services, as well as systems for passenger processing, reservations and fares.

Community systems and standards

The community systems provided by SITA for the air transport industry include:

• WorldTracer â€" baggage tracking
• BagMessage â€" global exchange of IATA-standard baggage messages
• Type B â€" IATA standard messaging
• iBorders â€" border management solutions
• Cargo Community System â€" global electronic data interchange
• PassengerHandler â€" Multi Departure Control System common agent check-in, bag drop and boarding application

Aiming to simplify communications and processes for air transport, SITA works with around twenty industry bodies and standards committees to set standards. The company has approximately forty participants in 55 different Standards Setting Working Groups. The organizations SITA works with include IATA, Air Cargo Inc, Airlines for America, ICAO and the FAA, plus AAAE, ACC, Association of European Airlines, CANSO, OpenTravel Alliance, ITU, the World Customs Organization and the World Trade Organization. The Working Groups SITA is involved in include IATA Type X, IATA Common Use, ATA e-Business, ICAO AFSG, ACI ACRIS and Eurocontrol SWIM. Examples of standards include:

• Messaging (ADS-B, Type X communications, Aero-ID and common-use self-service)
• Traceability (AutoID)
• Transportation security (Border Management data hub)
• Passenger Management (Common Use Passenger Processing System â€" CUPPS)

Research and development

The company's achievements include:

• First iPad kiosk to sell tickets.
• First augmented reality application for an airline
• Social booking and check-in engine on Facebook with deep social network integration
• Managing passenger flow at airports through geo-localization
• In-flight mobile portal developed with OnAir
• World's smallest full-function check-in kiosk
• First passenger bag-drop solution (which allows a single bag-drop counter to be used to service passengers from multiple airlines)
• CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing System) technology, a replacement for the CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) check-in and boarding standard used today. SITA worked with IATA and other bodies to introduce this capability, which will save the air transport industry millions of dollars.
• First service provider to achieve CUPPS compliance certification and to successfully complete its CUPPS pilot program.
• SITA works with business partner Orange Business Services on joint projects, and is also involved with the industry research programs e-Cab, Total Airport, SWIM, and SESAR. Additionally, the company focuses on institutional and academic research through teams at MIT, Cambridge and Montreal Universities.

Industry recognition

• IT Company of the Year, 2015 (second time in four years), Air Transport News Awards; Aviation IT Service Provider of the Year â€" 2014 (second year running), Africa, African Airlines Association (AFRAA); Best Airport IT Service Provider, 2014, Emerging Markets Airport Awards; Best Passenger Assistance Initiative for Virgin Atlantic’s Google Glass project, and Best Mobile Technology Initiative for American Airlines’ beacon deployment at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, 2014, Future Travel Experience Global; Smart Technology Award, The Wearables, 2014, SITA and Virgin Atlantic Airways; 2014 Oracle Excellence Award for Sustainability Innovation; 2014 Oracle Leadership Award for Finance, Europe, Middle East and Africa;
• 2013 PMI Atlanta Chapter Project of the Year Award; Frost & Sullivan Global Customer Value Enhancement Award in Border Control (2011); CAPA â€" the Centre for Aviation 'IT Innovation of the Year' award; the Emerging Markets Airports Awards (EMAA) Best IT Services Provider (2013, 2011, 2010); Airport IT Solutions Provider of the Year, Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific; and Tnooz THack gold medal winner for innovation.

References

External links

• Official website
• 'Air Transport IT Review' - SITA's external newsletter
• 'Air Transport IT Summit' - the annual forum for the industry's IT leaders
• OnAir official website
• SITA network in 1973
• IATA official website
• ICAO official website
• Chretien, G.J.; Konig, W.M.; Rech, J.H. (1973). "The SITA Network". Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Computer Communication Networks. Sussex, United Kingdom: Noordhoff International Publishing. pp. 373â€"396.