SITA (business services company) explained

SITA
Foundation:	1949
Location City:	Geneva
Location Country:	Switzerland
Area Served:	Over 200 countries and territories
Key People:	David Lavorel (CEO)^[1]
Industry:	Air transport communications and information technology
Revenue:	US$1.34 billion in 2020
Owner:	More than 400 member owners^[2]
Num Employees:	4,468^[3]

SITA is a multinational information technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry. The company provides its services to around 400 members and 2,500 customers worldwide, which it claims is about 90% of the world's airline business.^[4] Around the world, nearly every passenger flight relies on SITA technology.

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: British European Airways Corporation (BEAC), British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), British South American Airways (BSAA), KLM, Sabena, Swissair, TWA, Swedish A.G.Aerotransport, Danish Air Lines, Norwegian Air Lines and Air France.

World-wide computer network

SITA opened its first telecommunications centre in Rome in 1949. Information was manually transmitted using perforated tape and teleprinters. This was the 'first generation' of the network. The 'second generation' SITA High-Level Network (HLN) became operational in 1969, handling data traffic in real time via a message-switched network over common carrier leased lines.^{[5] [6]} It was organised to act like a packet-switching network.^[7] The 'third generation' Data Transport Network adopted X.25 in 1981, providing global coverage and becoming the world's "largest" public data network.^{[8] [9]}

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 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 — international freight forwarders, travel and distribution — global distribution systems, governments, aerospace, ground handlers and air traffic control.^[4]

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 Air Transport IT Insights, Passenger IT Insights, as well as working jointly with IATA on the industry’s Baggage Report.

SITA FOR AIRCRAFT

Launched in 2005 as OnAir, SITA FOR AIRCRAFT today provides Digital Day of Operations, Cabin Connectivity Services, and Unified Aircraft Communication. OnAir combined with SITA's Aircraft business in 2015 and is now SITA FOR AIRCRAFT but was previously known as SITAONAIR.^[10]

Subsidiaries

CHAMP CargosystemsCHAMP became a fully owned SITA subsidiary at the start of 2022, as 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.^[11]

AviaretoAviareto 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.^[12]

Products and services

SITA's services include:

• Airport operations, including total airport management, safety and security
• Aircraft operations, including operational communications, e-Aircraft services * e.g. for EFBs), and in-flight communications
• Baggage processing
• Cargo operations
• Communications & data exchange
• Passenger processing
• Border management

SITA's shared infrastructures include systems for passenger processing.

• support to the MSN ISP: Their internal communication network (SITA-NET, IP range 57.0.0.0/8) was rendered publicly accessible for years by MSN (The Microsoft Network) ISP through the 800 (call for free) phone number which the users were to use to register an MSN account. The IP address which was assigned to the user during the MSN sign-up process was part of the SITA-NET.

Standards

SITA works with around 20 industry bodies and standards committees to set standards. The company has approximately 40 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 — CUPPS)

Research and development

The company's achievements include:

• First iPad kiosk to sell tickets^[13]
• First augmented reality application for an airline
• Managing passenger flow at airports through geo-localization
• In-flight mobile portal developed with OnAir
• World's smallest full-function check-in kiosk
• 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.^[14]
• 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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Senior Leadership Team. About SITA > Management team . SITA. 16 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120830041231/http://www.sita.aero/content/senior-leadership-team . 30 August 2012. live.
2. Web site: SITA membership . en . 2019-03-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190708002914/https://www.sita.aero/about-us/sita-membership . 2019-07-08 . live .
3. Web site: Facts and Figures . About SITA > What We Do . SITA . 16 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090323050721/http://www.sita.aero/about-sita/what-we-do/facts-and-figures . 23 March 2009 . live.
4. Web site: Customers . SITA AERO . 2015-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130606060442/http://www.sita.aero/content/aviation-it-specialist-sita-expands-presence-letterkenny-0 . 2013-06-06 . live .
5. Chretien . G.J. . Konig, W.M. . Rech, J.H. . 1973 . The SITA Network . Sussex, United Kingdom . Noordhoff International Publishing . 373–396 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131020140241/http://rogerdmoore.ca/PS/SITAB.html . 2013-10-20 . Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Computer Communication Networks . dead.
6. Web site: Roberts . Dr. Lawrence G. . November 1978 . The Evolution of Packet Switching . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324033133/http://www.packet.cc/files/ev-packet-sw.html . 24 March 2016 . 5 September 2017 . Almost immediately after the 1965 meeting, Donald Davies conceived of the details of a store-and-forward packet switching system.
7. Web site: Roberts . Dr. Lawrence G. . November 1978 . The Evolution of Packet Switching . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324033133/http://www.packet.cc/files/ev-packet-sw.html . 24 March 2016 . 5 September 2017 . Almost immediately after the 1965 meeting, Donald Davies conceived of the details of a store-and-forward packet switching system.
8. Web site: SITA History. About SITA > What we do. SITA. 16 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120819091302/http://www.sita.aero/about-sita/what-we-do/sita-history. 19 August 2012. live.
9. Rybczynski . Tony . 2009 . Commercialization of packet switching (1975–1985): A Canadian perspective [History of Communications] . IEEE Communications Magazine . 47 . 12 . 26–31 . 10.1109/MCOM.2009.5350364 . 23243636.
10. Web site: OnAir. Community & partners > SITA Subsidiaries. SITA. 16 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120827015654/http://www.sita.aero/community-partners/sita-subsidiaries/onair. 27 August 2012. live.
11. Web site: CHAMP Cargosystems. Community & partners > SITA subsidiaries. SITA. 16 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120911142351/http://www.sita.aero/community-partners/sita-subsidiaries/champ-cargosystems. 11 September 2012. live.
12. Web site: Join Venture for Aviareto . 2015-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150111184854/http://www.mondaq.com/x/350732/Aviation/httpwwwmondaqcomarticleasparticleid350730 . 2015-01-11 . live .
13. Web site: Soapbox - A Landmark Year Ahead for IT Airlines International. airlines.iata.org. 30 September 2011 . 2016-09-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20150909172406/http://airlines.iata.org/blog/2011/10/soapbox-a-landmark-year-ahead-for-it. 2015-09-09. live.
14. Web site: CUPPS: The platform of the future . Future Travel Experience . 23 June 2009 . 28 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151009225920/http://www.futuretravelexperience.com/2009/06/cupps-the-platform-of-the-future/ . 9 October 2015 . live .