Community Messaging
Information exchange keeps the air transport industry running. Airlines, their suppliers and partners, and government regulators all require constant communications.
Airlines created SITA in 1949 to provide messaging service. They built their computer reservations systems around this service.
SITA Community Messaging guarantees your messages are delivered and received anywhere in the world. This solution remains central to our unique role in the industry as we continue to expand its capacity.
SITA know-how
Airlines and their industry partners use SITA services to handle the data exchanges that allow the industry to function.
In the 1960s, airlines became the first commercial companies to use computers. Since then, industry applications have evolved to handle new business practices such as e-tickets, cargo automation, A380 flight plans, and more.
The service is often called simply SITA Messaging because it was originally invented through SITA. The product name of the traditional service is Type B, a term that means messages for which SITA provides feature-rich, high-quality service and guaranteed delivery. Type B messages only transport text, but SITA has recently created a new Type X service using XML and Web service technologies that can transport any data format with extended features.
Presently, approximately 500 airlines or global distribution systems (GDS) and 25,000 remote terminals use our Community Messaging solution.
Benefits
Community Messaging provides the following benefits.
- Single interface to all ATI Partners
- Access to application service providers
- Easy integration with existing and new business partners
Community Messaging guarantees compliance with the following industry standards.
- International Air Transport Association (IATA) Reservations Interline Message Procedures - Passenger (AIRIMP)
- IATA AirportHandling Manual (AHM)
- IATA Baggage Handling Recommended Practices
- IATA Cargo Interline Message Procedures - Passenger (Cargo-IMP)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Flight Planning Standards
- ICAO Advance Passenger Information System
- IATA messaging standards: Type B and Type X
Features
The following features guarantee SITA's Community Messaging success:
1) Assess your application needs
SITA sales staff analyzes your current and planned use of the Community Messaging solution to predict usage trends and identify emerging needs, such as:
- Reservations/DCS application transition to new technology and/or service provider
- Requirement to comply with new regulations such as aviation security data submissions
- Airline alliance requirements for new data exchanges
- For new customers, understanding with whom you wish or need to communicate within the ATI community
2) Tailor solutions to meet your needs
Based on SITA analysis, we propose specific solutions to address your needs, such as:
- With whom you wish to communicate with the ATI community
- Access to your application service providers
- Access to government aviation security agencies
- Airline alliance interconnection capabilities
- Message content conversion capabilities
3) Deliver cost-effective results
SITA’s industry-leading Community Messaging solution includes:
- Simplified pricing that allows you to easily and accurately predict costs
- Scalable prices that ensure additional traffic is charged at decreasing unit rates