194th IATA Board of Governors

The 194th IATA Board of Governors meeting took place in Montreal on 2 December.  Following is a summary of the main actions taken by the Board to assist airlines in reducing their costs, increase IATA’s efficiencies and secure members’ funds:

Current industry issues

• Environment: The Board expressed broad support for IATA's actions in the climate change field and recognized the importance for IATA to retain the positive public image that the industry has achieved with its four-pillar strategy and three targets.  Staying ahead of the politicians and regulators will be key to success. Scaling up to commercial levels of biofuels could play an important role.
• Simplifying the Business:  The Board agreed to the renewal of the StB program, endorsing five new goals for tomorrow's passenger and approving the launch of two new projects. It also agreed to progress towards 100% e-freight by focusing on moving to the electronic Air WayBill. 
• Taxation and Airport and ANSP Charges: the Board asked IATA to further expand its work in this area.

IATA's internal activities

• ISS:  The Board reviewed IATA's progress in strengthening the IATA Settlement Systems (BSP and CASS) and approved a 2012 - 2017 business plan 
• IATA Governance Review:  the Board agreed to review and provide comments on the recommendations of a Board Task Force on Governance to increase the clarity and transparency of IATA's governance documents. Following the consolidation of these comments, the Board will then decide whether to bring further recommendations to the 2012 AGM for approval or whether additional work is required before any changes will be ready for AGM consideration 
• Financial:
• The IATA budget for 2012 and the Internal Audit plan were approved. The Board reviewed and advised on IATA's risk management and IT security strategies, as well as its legal liability exposures.  It also agreed to launch in 2012 a tendering for external audit services for the financial year 2013 and beyond.
• Industry priorities: the Board awarded a score of 85 out of 100 for IATA's performance against the 2011 Industry Priorities set in December 2010. It further approved a set of Industry Priorities for the IATA management team in 2012. One of these priorities is a challenge for IATA to reduce the fees and charges to members by US$ 6 million.

IATA's 2012 industry priorities