SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the aviation industry. Originally known as the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, the company no longer uses this long name and is now known simply as SITA.
SITA was founded in February 1949 by 11 airlines, as a cooperative providing communications between airports and pioneering telecommunications. The company was the first to handle data traffic in real time via a packet switched network over common carrier leased lines.
The company has evolved from its early days of providing only network services as a cooperative, and today provides a range of IT as well as communication services on a cooperative basis as well as on a commercial basis. SITA has over 600 members and more than 1800 customers, and - uniquely - still solely provides services to the global aviation industry (for airlines, airports, GDSs (Global Distribution Systems) and other aviation companies). Being confined to the aviation industry means that SITA needs to be present in all countries where the aviation industry operates, and today SITA operates in over 220 countries and territories, employing people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages.
SITA is owned by its air transport industry members, from whom the SITA Board is comprised. The company has the remit of serving the aviation community’s wider interests. This role remains faithful to the principles adopted when SITA was first established in 1949, meaning that SITA aims to work with the air transport community, for the benefit of the community. This includes working with industry bodies, such as IATA, to solve multi-stakeholder common industry issues through the use of IT and telecommunication services. This involves working on the development of community systems, industry standards and shared infrastructures for aviation.
Franceso Violante heads the SITA organization now based in Geneva.
SITA provides several products and services, some of which are briefly mentioned below.
SITA Products
A small section of SITA's product offerings include:
Proactive Fault Management (PFM)is one of SITA products where it provides proactive monitoring and fault restoration services for SITA and non-SITA services. A main advantage of the PFM is that SITA customers have a single-point of contact upon detecting a fault. SITA has dedicated a Proactive Surveillance Unit team (PSU) who provide route cause analysis, monitor connections to quickly identify faults. Their main scope is to minimize the service disruption for the customer.
BagManager is another product provided by SITA, where the baggage movement is tracked from the moment the passengers check-in until they arrive, ensuring the right bag travels with the right customer and reaching the same destination, and redirects bags in case of a missed flight.
Internet Direct is another product where SITA provides a dedicated Internet access and a worldwide connectivity in a fast and secure manner. It guarantees high-quality[citation needed] while providing controllable costs and service level agreements.
SITATEX is a client-based software application that generates and receives Type B messages, which is the standard format for messaging in the air transport industry. It uses the Internet, IP networks and dial connections to communicate messages and documents.
Other SITA products include fare management, border control, business logic and other solutions needed to run a commercial airline.
SITA Solutions
SITA provides solutions pertaining to Aircraft Operations (including flight planning), Airport Operations, Baggage Operations, Cargo Operations, Commercial Management, Communications & Infrastructure, Passengers Operations and Trasportation Security.
External links
Chretien, G.J.; Konig, W.M. and 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. 373-396.
