pPlease could you provide an overview of your role and what this looks like day-to-day ?
I ' m the CIO of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA ). IATA is a trade association representing 290 airlines in the world . We are dealing with 100,000 travel agents globally . Our job is to set all the standards for the commercial civil aviation and to act as a clearing house for all the indirect sales of tickets by travel agencies .
Can you tell us about the core values behind IATA and what a good technology posture means for the business ?
The main value for IATA is about partnership . We are a trade association ; we are representing the industry , so collaboration and partnership is really the main value and our objective is the safety of the passengers – all the aviation industry as a safety culture , so we at IATA are representing this industry . Of course , we are trying to push the safety culture everywhere in the world .
How would you describe the current state of the technology landscape in Europe and how does this affect the aviation industry ?
I would say that technology plays an important role in many areas . First , in the e-commerce part of our industry – so the selling and the management of the airline . And so , the relationship between the passenger and the airline but also including the travel agency and the airport . Technology ' s been an important role in order to facilitate a smooth and pleasant customer experience . But technology is playing a big role in the aircraft itself and also in all air traffic management . Without technology , our industry would not exist . We make the difference between IT and OT . All of the technology that is embedded in the aircraft is also a big part of what we do .
And finally , the technology is also there to facilitate the transaction and the experience of our customers . For example , currently , due to the COVID crisis , we are using technology to facilitate a touchless experience for the
CASE STUDY
WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY , OUR INDUSTRY
WOULD NOT EXIST .
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