Since then, we've seen many changes. SITA has grown to meet the needs of the wider air transport industry. We've expanded our portfolio to include a full range of IT and infrastructure services, available almost anywhere. And we've been at the forefront of many new transforming technologies that have radically improved the way the industry works.
But one thing hasn't changed: Our vision.
Because it is founded on cooperation and collaboration for the benefit of the industry, our vision remains intact. More than that, it's as important to the industry as it ever was. It's why today we do business with nearly every airline and airport in the world, touching the lives of almost every passenger who travels by air.
| 1976 | SITA went beyond its telecommunications remit for the first time in 1976, providing an IT application following its acquisition of the former SOLAR reservation system of Control Data Corporation. |
| 1976 | Georges Monniot, SITA's first General Manager, wrote his last Annual Report in 1976 before retiring after 27 years of service. He had been the architect of SITA's growth since its creation in 1949. |
| 1976 | SITA opened its first information processing centre in Atlanta, US, in 1976, followed by a second one in London, UK in 1983. |
| 1976 | In 1976, SITA Passenger Services customers numbered 12 with 39 employees to support the applications; today, over 260 staff members support more than 360 customers. |
| 1978 | SITA's first passenger check-in application was introduced in 1978 as part of its Departure Control Service. SITA's check-in system is now used by over 160 airlines worldwide and boarded more than 100 million passengers during 2008. |
| 1991 | In May 1991, ICAO accepted SITA as an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) member, adding strength to SITA's community role within the industry. |
| 1992 | SITA introduced air-to-ground telephony in 1992 with the first communications initiated from on-board an Air France and Lufthansa Boeing 747-400. Today, SITA AIRCOM customer aircraft exchange over 1 million ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) messages a day, with over 300 million a year via VHF and 60 million via satellite. |
| 1995 | SITA's first network service based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology, AeroNet, was introduced in 1995. The service offered airlines fast, direct online access to aircraft parts and maintenance databases. |
| 1995 | In July 1995, SITA launched a Global Voice Service, offering customers the only global, seamless Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution available worldwide. |
| 1995 | E-commerce history was made on 12th December 1995 as the low-cost fares revolution became possible following the launch of the world's first airline booking engine, by British Midlands Airways (now bmi). Developed by SITA, the booking engine allowed passengers to book and buy tickets online as well as search for flights. |
| 1996 | In June 1996, SITA signed a landmark US$400 million outsourcing contract with SABRE Computer Services, adding 24,000 connections to its network in the USA. |
| 1996 | Mixed voice and data traffic was enabled for the first time when in 1996 Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology began to be installed progressively over the SITA Network. |
| 1997 | SITA became a billion dollar company when it achieved over US$1 billion of revenues for the first time in 1997. |
| 1999 | SITA raised several billion dollars for the air transport industry during 1999 and 2000 through the public offerings of Equant (now Orange Business Services) |
| 1999 | In 1999, SITA formed a strategic partnership with Orange Business Services. For over 10 years it has given SITA access to extensive research and development resources - including 5,000 researchers working in 18 centres across 4 continents. The partnership continues with a new Enhanced Relationship Agreement. |
| 2000 | SITA introduced the world's first global electronic visa system with its partner CPS Systems. The ground-breaking Electronic Travel Authority System (ETAS) was implemented for the Australian government as part of its preparations for the 1996 Sydney Olympics. |
| 2001 | Following the signing of the Cape Town Treaty in 2001, SITA and its partner the Irish Government - under the name Aviareto - became the first organization in the world to manage and operate an international registry for aircraft asset management. Over a quarter of a million aviation assets have since been registered. |
| 2002 | SITA launched the .aero Top Level Domain (TLDs) in 2002, as one of seven new TLDs approved by ICANN. There are now over 6,000 .aero domain names registered by 3,085 aviation companies and individuals. |
| 2003 | In 2003, SITA INC was created as a separate commercial company to concentrate on providing ATI applications, expanding value-added business and enhancing performance. SITA SC continued to offer communications on a co-operative basis. In 2006, SITA consolidated into a single organization to focus on offering integrated communications and IT services, in line with trends towards communications and IT convergence. |
| 2003 | SITA's e-commerce capabilities took a major leap forward when it acquired Eland Technologies in 2003, giving it access to Eland's leading integration platform called Runway. The platform is now the most widely used Travel Application Integration platform in the industry. |
| 2004 | CHAMP Cargosystems was formed in 2004 in partnership with CargoLux. Today, it is the largest, dedicated provider of cargo IT solutions with over 200 customers and a workforce of over 200 expert staff. Customers include more than 80 airlines, 40 ground handlers and general sales agencies, and 200 freight forwarder companies. SITA is CHAMP's majority shareholder. |
| 2005 | OnAir was formed by SITA and Airbus in 2005 to develop and operate inflight passenger communications services. SITA is OnAir's majority shareholder. |
| 2005 | In an industry first, SITA won a 10-year US$ 200 million outsourcing contract in 2005 with Düsseldorf Airport to cater for all of its IT needs. Other major outsourcing contacts followed this landmark deal, including London City Airport - becoming the first UK airport to outsource all its IT and communication services - as well as Air Malta, Cargolux and Tunisair. |
| 2005 | In 2005, bmi and TAP Portugal were announced as the first airlines to run commercial trials of the inflight GSM service from OnAir, SITA's subsidiary. There are now more than 15 customers signed up for the service. |
| 2005 | OnAir received the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Award for their Airline & Passenger Focused Strategy. In 2009, SITA won the Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace & Defense Award for 'Airport Support Service Provider of the Year'. |
| 2006 | Formed as a collaboration among SITA, ARINC and Exostar, CertiPath has pioneered secure electronic identity management in the aerospace and defence industries. |
| 2007 | OnAir received the green light for the first inflight mobile phone system from the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) in June 2007. |
| 2007 | SITA has a market leadership in baggage solutions. Today, BagMessage is used at well over 100 leading airports around the world. In 2007, BagMessage delivered 750 million messages between airlines' departure control systems (DCSs) and automated baggage systems. |
| 2008 | SITA became the only IT provider with US government approval to transmit passenger data at check-in. From February 19, 2008, airlines flying internationally from, over or to the US needed to submit passenger and crew passport and travel document information before the aircraft departure. |
| 2008 | SITA is first IT provider to sign up to the aviation industry's commitment to action on climate change. As part of its own efforts, SITA is reducing the numbers of servers it uses from 2,000 to 600, saving one megawatt of power annually, offsetting more than 33 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years. |
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