SITA agrees to governance review

by CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, TOM BALLANTYNE  

July 1st 2014

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Communications and IT specialist, SITA, which is 90% owned by airlines, has announced a committee made up of member’s representatives that will conduct a governance review at the company. Read More »

The announcement was made at SITA’s annual general assembly (AGA) last month following criticism of the company at the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Doha earlier in June.

At the IATA AGM, IAG chief executive, Willie Walsh, said there were concerns the current SITA structure was overly complex and that a number of airlines, including his own, wanted change.

“SITA is primarily a not for profit organization, which has a requirement to provide value to shareholders and it would be natural for those shareholders to have a key role in in the strategic development and goal setting of SITA,“ Walsh said.

Walsh added the overwhelming majority of SITA shareholders were IATA members. In his view SITA does not ensure the full oversight, empowerment and control by shareholders of the company’s strategic direction.

President of the IATA AGM, Qatar Airways chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, praised SITA CEO, Francesco Violante, but said airlines should ensure “SITA is serving the airlines properly and that individuals who are not in the industry cannot be board members.

“People should know they are accountable. They should not be making management changes that are in the personal interest of certain individuals,” Al Baker said.

Violante planned to retire at the of 2015, but said in Brussels at the AGA he would remain with SITA until the committee announces its findings. A new chair, Bill Miller, was appointed at the AGA to succeed Bill Coby, who has been in the role since 2003.

SITA said it had earned revenue of $1.63 billion for the 2013 year, a 4% improvement over 2012.