INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

Posted on 28 April 2023 Category : For Beginners

INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

The basic objective of TATA has been to promote safe, regular and economical air transport for the benefit of the peoples of the world, foster air commerce, study the problems connected therewith and provide enterprises.

The International Air Transport Association is an international trade organization of airlines. It is founded in Havana, in April 1945. At its founding. IATA has 57 members from 31 mostly in Europe and North America IATA’s Head Office is in Montreal, its main executive Office is in Geneva. Regional offices are in Amman, Brussels, Dakar, London, Nairobi, Santiago, Singapore and Washington D.C. In addition, there are 57 offices around the world responsible for Agency Services, Billing and Settlement Plans and Cargo Account Settlements.

It is the prime vehicle for inter-airline cooperation in promoting safe, reliable, secure and economical air services for the benefit of the world's consumers. The international scheduled air transport industry is now more than 100 times larger than it was in 1945. Few industries can match the dynamism of that growth, which would have been much less spectacular without the standards, practices and procedures developed within IATA. Needless to add, IATA has played a very key role to develop high standards along with rigid implementation amongst its member airlines.

Today, it has over 270 Members from more than 140 nations in every part of the globe. Flights by these airlines comprise 94 percent of all international scheduled air traffic. Since these airlines face a rapidly changing world, they must cooperate in order to offer a seamless service of the highest possible standard to passengers and cargo shippers. Continual efforts by IATA ensure that people, freight and mail can move around the vast global airline network as easily as if they were on a single airline in a single country. In addition, IATA helps to ensure that Members' aircraft can operate safely, securely, efficiently and economically, under clearly defined and understood rules.

Mission & Range of Services LATA's mission is to "represent, lead and serve the airline industry*. In fulfilling that IATA provides services to four groups, interested in the smooth operation of the world air transport system: airlines, the consumers, governments, third parties such as travel and cargo agents or (equipment and systems suppliers.

For the Airlines: Different routes are combined through TATA—beyond the resources of , any single company—to exploit opportunity . Through the presence of IATA, Airlines are able to knit their individual networks into a worldwide system. This provides a platform to solve the mutual problems that emerge when more mighty agencies decide to work together for the common benefit. On account of this association, it has become possible for the different airlines to come to single platform, despite diversity and differences in language, currencies, laws and national customs. In this process, IATA also saves money to all airline members.

For the Consumers: IATA simplifies the travel and shipping process. to control airline costs, IATA contributes to cheaper tickets and shipping costs. Thanks to airline cooperation through IATA, individual passengers can make one telephone call several airlines in several t cooperation through TATA, individual passengers can to reserve a ticket. pay in one currency and then use the ticket if necessary, even return it, for a cash refund.

For Governments: The objective of every Government is to foster safe and efficient working standards, developed with in LATA, for implementation by a n the member airline. The standards are drawn from the source would otherwise have to be expended in bilateral negotiations - for example, on tariffs.

For Third parties: IATA is a collective link between third parties and the airlines. Passenger and cargo agents are able to make representations to the industry through IATA and derive the benefit of a neutral agency that has service standards and high professional skill levels. Equipment manufacturers and others are able to join in the airline meetings and can offer their viewpoint to the collective body that defines the way air transport business is to be conducted.

ROLE OF IATA

While the role of IATA has been fast changing and increasing manifold, with pace in traffic and commensurate increase in technological improvements, the main functions it has been performing are:

Initial Role: The most important tasks of IATA, during its earliest days, have been technical, because safety and reliability are fundamental to airline operations. These require the highest standards in air navigation, airport infrastructure and flight operations. Once they are operating within a sound technical and legal framework, airlines' next requirements are for answers to questions such as: who can fly where? What prices are to be charged and how the money from multi-airline journeys is to be divided up? How do airlines settle their accounts?

The following areas deserve particular mentioning when we discuss the role of IATA.

(A) Air Freight Rates

Airfreight rates are chargeable either on the basis of gross weight or gross volume or volumetric basis (i.e. weight or volume whichever is higher). The rates quoted by the airlines are from one specified airport to another airport, in one direction. If the rate quoted is from Mumbai to New York, the same rate is not applicable from New York to Mumbai as the traffic in the reverse direction may not be same as in the onward direction. The rate quoted is for a minimum acceptable weight. Even if the weight is lower than the minimum weight, the same rate is charged. Further, concessional rates may be provided when the total weight exceeds a particular tonnage to attract higher tonnage at concessional rates. The weights at which the concessions applicable are called "Break Points". For example, there could be a concession of 10% if the weight of cargo exceeds 100 kg or more.

Under IATA agreements, airlines offer specific commodity rates from one airport to another "sport to the stipulated products or product groups, these are the concessional rates offered to those products, which are available for carriage in large quantities over a period of time. Thus, the airlines agree to provide concession& rates in return for regular tonnage, 11 the cargo is below the concessional quantity, only normal rate is charged.

(B)Standardized Documentation

Automation has become commonplace in airline operations during the 1980s. Airlines an over the world use standardized transport document, known as Airway Bill or Air Consignment Note. Airway Bill functions as a carrier receipt and evidence of contract of affreigtment between the shipper and airlines. This document also operates as an instructions sheet for the onward carriers, it is not a document of title. TATA has begun its involvement in perfecting standard message formats for data exchange between the airlines, which continues to this day.

(C) Clearing House

IATA provides an important role to the carriers and users in the form of clearing house. Today, each year, billions of international air passengers pay for their ticket in one place, in one currency, but complete their journey using at least two, and sometimes five or more, airlines from different countries, using different currencies. Equally, when the cargo is hooked to a country that does not have direct flight and involves transshipment, shipper pays the freight to that airlines where cargo is booked and loaded, initially. Goods reach the final destination and in that process, several lines may be used TATA provides the window for freight settlement between the users at the agreed tariff rates. Close to 300 airlines accept each other’s tickets and airway bills—and thus their passenger and cargo traffic-on a reciprocal basis. Development of the Clearing House is followed by the establishment of Billing and Settlement Plans and Cargo Accounts Settlement Systems. In effect, clearing houses speed the 'flow of revenue from agents to airlines and mutual settlements between the airlines.

(A) Training

Training is another important area where it provides service to its member airlines. There are now lakhs of TATA agents worldwide and billions of students have enrolled for IATA-sponsored agency training courses since they are introduced.

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