iata agm: sita results support evidence of aviation boom as new business breaks through billion dollar mark
SITA Chairman Paul Coby hails company’s 2006 results as strong evidence of the overall good health of the air transport industry
IATA AGM, VANCOUVER, June 5, 2007– SITA, co-sponsor of the IATA AGM and the main provider of integrated IT business solutions and communication services for the air transport industry, today reported consolidated revenues of US$1.481 billion for the year 2006 and a record US$1.001 billion in new business.
In comments released at the IATA AGM, Paul Coby, SITA Chairman, said, “SITA earned on target revenues last year but the most significant indicator for the air transport industry overall is that the main IT provider still owned by the airlines, signed just over US$1 billion in new contracts last year for the first time. This clearly supports IATA’s optimism about the overall health of the industry and the airlines’ return to profitability worldwide.
“At SITA, we have achieved the goals we set ourselves last year when we brought together the applications and communication sides of the business into a single SITA organization. We have delivered on a clear shareholder strategy, a single integrated approach to the customer and a simple and cost-effective organization structure. SITA remains in the air transport community’s hands and continues to deliver IP-based innovation to the heart of that community,” he added.
Hani El Assaad, SITA Regional Vice-President, Middle East & Turkey stated, “In addition to winning over US$1 billion in new business we also returned nearly US$71 million to customers through price reductions on our community network services which we continue to deliver on a completely not-for-profit basis.”
He also went on to add: “SITA has maintained its position as a world leader in check-in solutions which were used by over 550 million passengers last year but we are also investing in the future through innovative technologies such as OnAir, our joint venture with Airbus which will see mobile phone use on planes become a reality in the near future.”
Some of the most significant SITA announcements last year were: a US$100 million deal to revamp Malaysia Airlines; a US$ 37 million deal with the Kuwait government to install SITA’s unique Advance Passenger Processing solution; a US$ 20 million deal with Qatar Airways to build and maintain advanced telecommunication network infrastructure; a US$ 3.2 million project with Royal Jordanian to deploy the Horizon Solution (departure control and e-ticketing system) and the launch of a highly secure solution for loading software and data onto the A380.
SITA’s full annual report for 2006 will be released at its Annual General Assembly (AGA) which will take place in Brussels, June 21. Immediately following the AGA, the annual SITA and Airline Business Airline IT Trends Survey results will be shared with participants attending the 2007 Airline IT Summit.
