:International Air Transport Association

IATA was formed in April 1945 in Havana, Cuba. It is the successor to the International Air Traffic Association, which was formed in 1919 at The Hague, Netherlands.{{cite web |title=IT in general Aviation: Pen and Paper vs. Bits and Bytes| url= http://hoehne.net/files/hoehne_master-thesis_llm.pdf| author=Sebastian Höhne| publisher= hoehne.net| access-date=5 May 2014|page=38|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308173753/http://hoehne.net/files/hoehne_master-thesis_llm.pdf| archive-date=8 March 2014|url-status=live}}{{better source needed|date=January 2020}}{{Cite news| title=International Air Transport Association (IATA) - OECD |url=https://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/IATA%20profile.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218043606/https://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/IATA%20profile.pdf|archive-date=Feb 18, 2023}} At its founding,{{which|Since both the International Air Transport Association and International Air Traffic Association both are abbreviated, it would be interesting to know if the founding 57 airlines from 31 countries refers to the association formed in 1919 or 1945|date=June 2023}} IATA consisted of 57 airlines from 31 countries. Much of IATA's early work was technical and IATA provided input to the newly created International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which was reflected in the annexes of the Chicago Convention in 1944, the international treaty that still governs international air transport.

File:Tour de la Bourse August 2017 02.jpg)]]

The Chicago Convention did not result in a consensus on the economic regulation of the airline industry. According to Warren Koffler, IATA was formed to fill the resulting void and provide international air carriers with a mechanism to fix prices.

In the late 1940s, IATA started holding conferences to fix prices for international air travel. IATA secretary J.G Gazdik stated that the organization aimed to fix prices at reasonable levels, with due regard being paid to the cost of operations, in order to ensure reasonable profits for airlines.Gazdik, J.G. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/jalc16&i=304 Rate-Making and the IATA Traffic Conferences ]. Journal of Air Law and Commerce, vol. 16, no. 3, Summer 1949, pp. 298–322.

In 1947 at a time when many airlines were government-owned and loss-making, IATA operated as a cartel, charged by the governments with setting a constrained fare structure that avoided price competition.{{Cite journal |last=Koffler |first=Warren W |date=1966-01-01 |title=IATA: Its Legal Structure - A Critical Review |url=https://scholar.smu.edu/jalc/vol32/iss2/4 |journal=Journal of Air Law and Commerce |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=222| quote = "IATA is an international trade association which is cartel-like in a number of its operations. [] IATA is an international monopoly, or cartel, by either classic or modern definition. While its stated purpose is to create economic air transport, its actual operation has set prices at a level sufficient to support the least efficient of its carrier members. [] [IATA] members' governments have sent their technical experts to a meeting to negotiate the price of a commodity. These men, in the employ of their governments directly or indirectly, have been fully instructed before their departure."}} The first Traffic Conference was held in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro and reached unanimous agreement on some 400 resolutions.{{Cite web |title=IATA - Early Days |url=https://www.iata.org/en/about/history/history-early-days/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=www.iata.org |language=en}}{{Non-primary source needed| date=January 2023}} IATA Director-General William Hildred recounted that about 200 of the resolutions at the Rio de Janeiro conference were related to establishing a uniform structure for tariffs charged for international air transportation.Hildred, William P. "[https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/airfairs2&i=366 International Air Transport Association: II.]" Air Affairs, vol. 2, no. 3, July 1948, pp. 364–379.

The American Civil Aeronautics Board did not intervene to stop IATA's price fixing, and in 1954 law professor Louis B. Schwartz condemned the board's inaction as an "abdication of judicial responsibility".{{Cite journal| last=Schwartz| first=Louis B.| date=1954| title=Legal Restriction of Competition in the Regulated Industries: An Abdication of Judicial Responsibility| author-link = Louis B. Schwartz| journal=Harvard Law Review| volume=67| issue=3| pages=436–475| doi = 10.2307/1336965|issn=0017-811X| jstor=1336965}} The Economist lambasted IATA's connivance with governments to fix prices and compared IATA with medieval guilds.{{cite news|newspaper = The Economist | date = 1 July 1961 | page = 63 | title = Clearing the Air | volume = 200 | issue =6149 | url = https://archive.org/details/sim_economist_1961-07-01_200_6149/page/63/mode/2up}}

In the early 1950s IATA's price fixing regime forced airlines to attempt to differentiate themselves through the quality of their passenger experience.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1007/BF01103328|title = Cartels as efficient productive structures|journal = The Review of Austrian Economics|volume = 9| issue = 2|pages = 29–42|year = 1996| last1 = Salin| first1 = Pascal|s2cid = 154931354|author-link1=Pascal Salin}} IATA responded by imposing strict limits on the quality of airline service.McGoldrick, John Lewis. Regulation of Service Competition in International Air Travel [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/hilj8&i=86] Harvard International Law Journal , vol. 8, no. 1, Winter 1967, pp. 78-115. In 1958, IATA issued a formal ruling barring airlines from serving economy passengers sandwiches with "luxurious" ingredients.{{cite news|first = Paul| last =Freidlander| date = 27 April 1958 | url = https://nyti.ms/2Ui5ydb | newspaper= New York Times| pages = 2–1 | title = Sandwich Settlement|url-access=subscription}}Tauber, Ronald S. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/hilj10&i=9 Enforcement of IATA Agreements]. Harvard International Law Journal , vol. 10, no. 1, Winter 1969, pp. 1–33. The economist Walter Adams observed that the limited service competition permitted by IATA tended to merely divert traffic from one air carrier to another without at the same time enlarging the overall air transport market.{{Cite journal| last=Adams| first=Walter| date=1958| title=The Role of Competition in the Regulated Industries| journal=The American Economic Review| volume=48| issue=2| pages= 527–543| issn=0002-8282| author-link=Walter Adams (economist)| jstor=1816944}}

From 1956 to 1975, IATA resolutions capped travel agent commissions at 7% of the airline ticket price. Legal scholar Kenneth Elzinga argued that IATA's commission cap harmed consumers by decreasing the incentive for travel agents to offer improved service to consumers.Elzinga, Kenneth G. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/jalc44&i=71 The Travel Agent, the IATA Cartel, and Consumer Welfare]. Journal of Air Law and Commerce, vol. 44, no. 1, 1978, p. 47.

By the late 1970s, IATA's price fixing regime was seen as unattractive by many airlines. As a result, major airlines, like Singapore Airlines and Pan-American Airlines, chose to forgo IATA membership.Heller, Paul P. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/newzlndrl4&i=232 Recent Developments in Air Transport Regulation] New Zealand Recent Law, vol. 4, no. 5, June 1978, pp. 210-216

In 1973, 94% of international scheduled passenger traffic flew on IATA carriers.{{cite book|title=Ratemaking in International Air Transport|last=Haanappel|first=Peter P.C.|page=2|publisher=Kluwer|location=Deventer, Netherlands|url=https://archive.org/details/ratemakingininte0000haan|year=1978}}

In 2024, IATA reported that international passenger traffic reached record highs, growing by 13.6% over 2023 figures. IATA member airlines, which represent more than 80% of global air traffic, carried the majority of this international scheduled passenger traffic. Although specific percentages for international traffic alone aren't detailed, IATA's robust membership and global reach suggest that a substantial portion of international scheduled passenger traffic was operated by IATA carriers in 2024.{{cite news |title= Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024 |url= https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-releases/2025-01-30-01/ |accessdate=3 May 2025 |agency=IATA |date=30 January 2025}}

During its time as a cartel, IATA set the fares that IATA carriers charged and enforced them with quasi-governmental powers;{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=62–63}} it was backed by most relevant governments by making IATA fares a requirement of air service agreements between countries.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=9}} In the case of the US, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB, the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, regulated almost all US commercial air transport) also provided IATA with a waiver from US antitrust laws.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=44}} Plus, most IATA airlines were majority government owned{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=153–154}} and even some privately-owned IATA members were under government control.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=2}} The biggest non-IATA carriers, like Aeroflot, tended to nonetheless charge IATA fares, but a few, such as such as Loftleidir Icelandic, offered below-IATA prices.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=106}}

The real competition to the IATA cartel system were the charter carriers, which in 1972 accounted for up to 28% of international traffic, with prices set by supply and demand.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=1}} IATA "special fares" (discounts from standard fares) were mostly a reaction to charter competition.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=96}} IATA competition with charter carriers was complex and to some degree hypocritical: some IATA carriers had non-IATA subsidiaries offering charters that IATA carriers could not,{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=114}} for example, Lufthansa's Condor subsidiary or Air France's Air Charter International.{{sfn|Haanappel|1978|p=6}}

IATA members engaging in illegal rebating on their IATA-set scheduled fares. In the early 1970s, there were a half billion dollars in annual illegal transatlantic scheduled fare rebates uncovered in a US Department of Justice investigation that resulted in fines and consent decrees from 19 airlines Pan Am, Trans World Airlines and most European flag carriers (e.g. Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, etc). The investigation started when a travel agent was discovered entering the US with $80,000 hidden in his socks, which he admitted was a rebate.{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112106910083?urlappend=%3Bseq=1021%3Bownerid=35611308-1020|hdl=2027/uiug.30112106910083|hdl-access=free|year=1975|volume=2|pages=979–981|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|title=Oversight of Civil Aeronautics Board Practices and Procedures: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-Fourth Congress, First Session}}

In 1982, the sociologist John Hannigan described IATA as "the world aviation cartel".{{Cite journal| last= Hannigan| first=John A.| date=1982| title= Unfriendly Skies: The Decline of the World Aviation Cartel| journal=The Pacific Sociological Review| volume=25 |issue=1|pages=107–136| doi= 10.2307/1388890| issn=0030-8919| jstor=1388890| s2cid=158297510}} IATA enjoyed immunity from antitrust law in several nations.{{Cite journal | last= Koffler| first= Warren| date=Spring 1966 |title=IATA: Its legal structure - A critical review| url=https://scholar.smu.edu/jalc/vol32/iss2/4/ |journal=Journal of Air Law and Commerce |volume=32 |pages=222–235 }}

To prevent Laker Airways from disrupting IATA's price fixing regime, IATA members allegedly used a 1977 to conspired to undercut prices on shared routes, seeking to bankrupt Freddie Laker's airline. Laker Airways bankruptcy estate later asserted claims against IATA members under the American Sherman and Clayton antitrust acts.Moore, Richard Hancock. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/wflr20&i=963 The Laker Jurisdictional Affair: The Judiciary Temporarily Avoids a Political Showdown.] Wake Forest Law Review, vol. 20, no. 4, August 1984, pp. 951-974. HeinOnlineFriedman, Aryeh S. [https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/bjil11&i=189 Laker Airways: The Dilemma of Concurrent Jurisdiction and Conflicting National Policies.] Brooklyn Journal of International Law, vol. 11, no. 2, Spring 1985, pp. 181-236

In 2006, the United States Department of Justice adopted an order withdrawing the antitrust immunity of IATA tariff conferences.{{Cite web| title = DOT-OST-2006-25307-003| url=https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOT-OST-2006-25307-0039| website=www.regulations.gov| access-date=2020-02-26}}{{Cite book|title=The future of the postal sector in a digital world|page = 337 | isbn = 978-3-319-24454-9| publisher = Springer| oclc=930703336|first = Ralf | last =Wojtek | editor1-first =Michael A. |editor1-last = Crew |editor2-first = Timothy J. | editor2-last = Brennan |chapter = UPU compensation rates for packages under EU competition law: Are the lessons to be learned from other international fee arrangements|date = 28 November 2015}}

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted routine flights around the world. In the immediate aftermath most airlines, because of the physical distancing policies implemented by national governments, reduced their seat loading by eliminating the sale of the middle seat in a row of three. This reduction averaged out to a load factor of 62% normal, well below the IATA industry break-even level of 77%. Fares would need to rise as much as 54% if a carrier were to break even, according to calculations done by the IATA, who posit that because of "forward-facing seats that prevent face-to-face contact, and ceiling-to-floor air flows that limit the circulation of respiratory droplets" the risk of transmission is reduced. North American carriers such as WestJet, Air Canada and American Airlines all planned to resume normal pattern sales on 1 July 2020.{{cite news |last1=Atkins |first1=Eric |title=WestJet and Air Canada to start selling middle seat on flights as of July 1 |url= https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-westjet-and-air-canada-to-start-selling-middle-seat-on-flights-as-of/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc |date=26 June 2020}} This industry-driven policy garnered immediate push-back from some Canadians, including those who felt defrauded, while Minister of Transport Marc Garneau noted that the "on-board spacing requirement is a recommendation only and therefore not mandatory" while his Transport Canada department listed physical distancing as a prophylactic among the key positive points in a guide prepared for the Canadian aviation industry.{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Ryan Patrick |title=Critics not on board with airlines' decision to relax in-flight physical distancing during COVID-19 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/airlines-physical-distancing-reaction-1.5630146 |publisher=CBC |date=28 June 2020}}

• {{flagicon|Ireland}} Willie Walsh (2021-present){{Cite web |title=IATA's Leaders over the Years |url=https://www.iata.org/en/about/history/history-leaders/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=www.iata.org |language=en}}
• {{flagicon|France}} Alexandre de Juniac (2016–2021)
• {{flagicon|UK}} Tony Tyler (2011–2016)
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Giovanni Bisignani (2002–2011)
• {{flagicon|Canada}} Pierre Jean Jeanniot (1993–2002)
• {{flagicon|GER}} Günter Eser (1985–1992)
• {{flagicon|SWE}} Knut Hammarskjöld (1966–1984)
• {{flagicon|UK}} Sir William Hildred (1946–1966)

IATA states that safety is its highest priority.{{Cite web| title=Safety|url=https://www.iata.org/en/programs/safety/|access-date=2020-08-07|website=www.iata.org|language=en}} The main instrument for safety is the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). IOSA has also been mandated at the state level by several countries.{{specify|date=June 2023}} In 2017, aviation posted its safest year ever, surpassing the previous record set in 2012. The new global Western-built jet accident rate became the equivalent of one accident every 7.36 million flights.{{cite news|title=2017 was the safest year in aviation history – but which was the deadliest?|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/2017-was-the-safest-year-in-aviation-history/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/2017-was-the-safest-year-in-aviation-history/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| newspaper= The Telegraph|access-date=11 January 2018|author=Oliver Smith}}{{cbignore}} Future improvements will be founded on data sharing with a database fed by a multitude of sources and housed by the Global Safety Information Center. In June 2014, the IATA set up a special panel to study measures to track aircraft in flight in real time. The move was in response to the disappearance without a trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on 8 March 2014.{{cite news| title=IATA wants new airline tracking equipment| url= http://www.malaysiasun.com/index.php/sid/222727817/scat/5e8a9e9456185a7e/ht/IATA-wants-new-airline-tracking-equipment| access-date=10 June 2014| newspaper=Malaysia Sun|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223314/http://www.malaysiasun.com/index.php/sid/222727817/scat/5e8a9e9456185a7e/ht/IATA-wants-new-airline-tracking-equipment| archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status =dead}}

Simplifying the Business{{cite news|last=Gouldman|first=Anna|title=Airlines to Scrap Paper Tickets by 2007: Industry Feedback| url= http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn2005042510410790/|access-date=18 November 2013| newspaper=Breaking Travel News|date=25 April 2005}} was launched in 2004. This initiative has introduced a number of crucial concepts to passenger travel, including the electronic ticket{{cite news|last=Greenwood|first=Gemma|title=IATA makes final paper ticket order| url= http://www.arabianbusiness.com/iata-makes-final-paper-ticket-order-57032.html| access-date=18 November 2013|newspaper=Arabian Travel News|date=27 August 2007}} and the bar coded boarding pass. Many other innovations are being established as part of the Fast Travel initiative, including a range of self-service baggage options.

An innovative program, launched in 2012 is New Distribution Capability (NDC).{{cite news| last= Boehmer| first=Jay|title=IATA Votes To Adopt New Distribution Standards| url= http://www.thebeat.travel/post/2012/10/18/iata-votes-to-adopt-new-distribution-standards.aspx| access-date=18 November 2013| newspaper=The Beat|date=18 October 2012}} This will replace the pre-Internet EDIFACT messaging standard, which is still the basis of the Global Distribution System (GDS) and travel agent channel, with an XML standard.IATA. [http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/e/Pages/cargo-xml.aspx Cargo-XML Standards: Modernizing air cargo communication]. This will enable the same choices to be offered to high street travel shoppers as are offered to those who book directly through airline websites. A filing with the US Department of Transportation brought over 400 comments.{{cite news|last=Vanasse|first=Zachary-Cy|title=New Distribution Capability Or New Industry Model?|url=http://www.travelhotnews.com/reportages.php?sequence_no=43366|access-date=18 November 2013|newspaper=Travel Hot News|date=1 May 2013|archive-date=6 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506034904/http://www.travelhotnews.com/reportages.php?sequence_no=43366|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Orukpe|first=Abel|title=IATA urges stakeholders to collaborate, give passengers value| url= http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/10/iata-urges-stakeholders-to-collaborate-give-passengers-value/|access-date=18 November 2013| newspaper= Daily Independent|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130315191956/http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/10/iata-urges-stakeholders-to-collaborate-give-passengers-value/|archive-date=15 March 2013|url-status=usurped}}

IATA members and all industry stakeholders have agreed to three sequential environmental goals:{{cite news |title=Carbon-Neutral Growth by 2020 |url=https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2009-06-08-03/ |publisher=IATA |date=8 June 2009 |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414025050/https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2009-06-08-03/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Climate Change |url=https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/climate-change/ |publisher=IATA}}

1. An average improvement in fuel efficiency of 1.5% per annum from 2009 through 2020
2. A cap on net carbon emissions from aviation from 2020 (carbon-neutral growth)
3. A 50% reduction in net aviation carbon emissions by 2050 relative to 2005 levels.

At the 2013 IATA annual general meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, members overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution on "Implementation of the Aviation Carbon-Neutral Growth (CNG2020) Strategy."{{cite news |last=Harvey |first=Fiona |author-link=Fiona Harvey |date=4 June 2013 |title=Airlines agree to curb their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/04/airlines-agree-to-curb-greenhouse-gas-emissions |access-date=18 November 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian}} A representative for the European Federation for Transport and Environment criticized the resolution for relying on carbon offsets instead of direct reductions in aviation carbon emissions.

IATA provides consulting and training services in many areas.

A number of standards are defined under the umbrella of IATA. One of the most important is the IATA DGR{{citation|title=Dangerous Goods Regulations|editor=IATA|url=https://www.iata.org/en/publications/dgr/}} for the transport of dangerous goods (HAZMAT) by air.

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• AIDX
• Air Transport Action Group (ATAG)
• Conex box
• HADID
• Flight planning
• IATA airline code
• IATA airport code
• IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)
• International Association of Travel Agents Network (IATAN)
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading
• Kenneth Beaumont
• Standard Schedules Information Manual

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{PM20|FID=co/060269|TEXT=Clippings about|NAME=}}

{{IATA members}}

{{Commercial aviation}}

{{Portal bar|Aviation}}

{{Coord|45.5006|-73.5617|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2025}}

Category:Airline trade associations

Category:International organizations based in Canada

Category:Organizations established in 1945

Category:Organizations based in Montreal

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Montreal

Category:Cartels