SITA named “IT Company of the Year”

The Air Transport News (ATN) 2013 Awards have recognized SITA as the IT Company of the Year for its influential leadership, achievements, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and social responsibility. The industry’s leading IT and communications specialist SITA works with almost every airline and airport in the world, innovating to benefit the entire air transport community.

Arthur Calderwood, SITA Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales Operations, accepted the award on behalf of SITA at a ceremony held on the eve of the ICAO Sixth Worldwide Air Transport Conference in Montreal, Canada.

Calderwood said: “SITA is at the heart of the air transport industry, and we’re delighted to be named IT Company of the Year. We’re proud to operate at the forefront of the air transport industry, collaborating with our industry partners to create community value. Not only are we committed to providing services all across the world, we’re also making multi-million dollar investments in the future of the industry and running ground-breaking pilot projects that will help shape its future.

“This award is a real endorsement from thousands of individuals working in the industry and the readers of ATN and is thanks to SITA’s employees whose dedication and competence made it possible.”

SITA provides the broadest portfolio of solutions for the air transport industry—all around the world. Its extensive network forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry, and covers 95 percent of all international destinations. More than 300 airlines use SITA’s AirportConnect Open to process millions of passengers every day in more than 400 airports worldwide.

Its technology research arm, SITA Lab, stimulates technology innovation working with customers to pilot emerging technologies such as geo-localization, near field communications, cloud computing, predictive analytics and grid technologies. It also provides APIs for the industry through the www.developer.aero platform to facilitate faster adoption of technology. One such API allows airlines to introduce mobile boarding passes, including Apple Passbook, quickly and easily into operations.

Over the past number of decades, SITA has led the development of sophisticated border management solutions. Its iBorders Border Management is the industry’s only full end-to-end solution that can match passenger biographic data with biometric technologies and pre-arrival risk assessment with true identity management on the global level. Now used in more than 30 countries, on every continent, SITA’s border management solutions facilitate secure travel, supporting airlines, airports and government agencies.

Calderwood said: “It’s clear to us that collaborative innovation will transform the air transport industry. So, the evolution of SITA and the air transport industry are one and the same. Our strategic investments, portfolio developments and innovations are always focused on the industry’s future.”

ATN has a strong subscription base of more than 42,000. Award winners were selected by the website’s readers based on two months of online voting and validated by a jury of industry leaders.