SITA: Technology Solutions Focusing on Customer Service for Latin American Airlines and Its Aviation Industry.

Most companies that adopt new technology see direct results on the bottom line. But not many can point to it as dramatically as Eliane Regina da Silva, commercial manager of a Brazilian regional airline that flies to the emerging tourist region of northeastern Brazil from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier this year, FLY Airlines had been carrying about 7,000 customers a month. In May, the company automated its passenger operations by adopting SITA's GABRIEL reservations system and interconnecting its offices to the network services also offered by SITA, an international technology company that serves the world's aviation industry.

Within three months, FLY was ferrying more than 16,000 passengers thanks to the larger exposure this automation provided.

"We had such huge growth in such a short time that we had to add a second aircraft," da Silva said during a presentation at SITA's recent Second IT Customer Conference for Latin American and Caribbean airlines and airport authorities. "Our partnership with SITA has really made a difference."

Stories like da Silva's are not news to Marcelo Archila, director of sales and marketing for the region. SITA's growth rate in Latin America has been running 20 to 21% a year, compared with 15% industry-wide.

"We are delighted to hear of FLY's success, which is a confirmation that SITA's approach in Latin America, focused on customer service, is yielding these results," says Archila. "In a region where airport and telecommunications infrastructure has been traditionally challenging, SITA has been able to grow its customer base from 32 airlines in 1993 to more than 104 customers now. For us, customer satisfaction is always first and foremost."

Nearly all those airlines, plus some Latin American airport representatives, gathered in October at Miami's prestigious Turnberry Isle Resort & Club to share their experiences and learn more about SITA's broad array of services. "It's an unforgettable experience, a fantastic workshop," says Emmanuel Sanches, IT manager for Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer.

Archila reinforces customer satisfaction as the best way to differentiate SITA in an increasingly crowded market of technology providers: "We have been able to build relationships that are professional in essence, and based on trust. Our customers know our structure is really focused on their needs, their requirements."

The conference focused on technology solutions and the growing importance of airline IT departments. "We hold [Incomplete text from original publisher]this conference brings together the airline CIOs so they can share experiences, among themselves and with other industry executives" Archila says. "At the same time, this is a good opportunity for us to showcase our ever-developing portfolio of services and solutions and bring in industry speakers who can update all of us on technology trends."

SITA was founded 51 years ago as the Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques to offer communications solutions to international airlines. Today, it offers global solutions for data and voice communications, with value-added applications for flight operations, airports, airfreight, passengers, cargo and e-business among others. It serves over 700 members in 220 countries and territories over the world's largest, most advanced integrated voice and data network.

"A few years ago, airline IT departments in Latin America were not as strong as they are today" says Archila. "But with the boom in information technology, they started acquiring new expertise and developing new requirements for customized solutions. In Latin America today, you see some very sophisticated IT groups, including some airlines that are eminently IP or were P-born. Lan Chile and Varig were among some of the first large IP projects that SITA rolled out worldwide." Emphasizing this statement, Frank Nagle, CIO for Grupo TACA, commented that the airline's group vision is to provide a "world-class IT organization for a world class airline."

SITA has also worked with airports in Mexico, Cuba and Brazil to implement Common Use Terminal Equipment that allow different airlines to share check-in counters and gate facilities. Getting airport authorities to upgrade technologies is especially important, so including them in the conference makes sense, Archila says.

"If you look around this conference, you can see all the people talking to one another and sharing information," concludes Archila. "But what you can't tell is who is a SITA employee and who is a customer."