The Airline Tariff Publishing Company (commonly known as ATPCO) is a privately held corporation that engages in the collection and distribution of fare and fare-related data for the airline and travel industry. ATPCO currently works with more than 440 airlines worldwide, and it supplies more than 99% of the industry’s intermediated fare data to all the major airfare pricing engines, storing over 351 million active fares in its database and managing an average of 18 million fare changes each day.[1]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Travel technology Travel services |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Alex Zoghlin, President and CEO |
| Products | FareManager Fares and Rules Routehappy Architect Express Contracts Baggage Calculator |
Number of employees | 476 (2022) |
| Website | www |
The users of ATPCO’s data are Global Distribution Systems (GDS), such as Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport, and their associated travel agents; the Central Reservation Systems (CRS) of airlines; online travel agencies (OTA) such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity; and other service providers in the travel industry.
In January 2020, Alex Zoghlin took over as the new President and CEO.[2]
Locations
editBased near Washington Dulles International Airport, ATPCO also has offices in London, Bulgaria, and Singapore.[3]
Owners
editThe following airlines are owners of ATPCO:[4]
History
editThe Air Traffic Conference of America, a body within the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), was founded in 1945 to publish passenger tariffs (fares). In 1958 it assumed publication of freight tariffs, formerly produced by Air Cargo, Inc., and in 1965 the group divested from ATA as an independent company, Airline Tariff Publishers, Inc. It was reorganized and took its current name in 1975.
In 1994, ATPCO and six airlines entered into a consent decree with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division over its computerized fare information system.[5] DOJ identified over 50 separate price fixing agreements covering hundreds of routes, amounting to hundreds of dollars in higher individual ticket prices, and between $238 million to $1.9 billion in total fare increases.
In the 1980s and 1990s, ATPCO digitized the information filed on paper tariffs, automating manual processes and enabling electronic connectivity for airfares in the industry. In later decades, ATPCO has continued to automate more types of pricing and related data, such as baggage allowance and charges.[6]
In February 2018, ATPCO acquired Routehappy.[7] The acquisition increases ATPCO’s merchandising capabilities combining its flagship pricing data with Routehappy rich content.
A few months later, ATPCO was awarded a patent for its cacheless airline ticket pricing technology,[8] which allows the calculation of all possible airline ticket prices, regardless of availability.
In 2022, ATPCO donated its collection[9] of historical fares, rules, and routes to the Library of Congress, where they are now accessible to the public.
In 2023, ATPCO acquired 3Victors to expand ATPCO’s data with real-time capabilities to further support the transition to modern airline retailing.
References
edit- ^ "ATPCO Owners | Airline Tariff Publishing Company". www.atpco.net. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
- ^ "Alex Zoghlin Takes the Reins as ATPCO CEO; Aims to Simplify the Way the Industry Connects and Works Together". www.atpco.net. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26.
- ^ "Locations | Airline Tariff Publishing Company". www.atpco.net. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "ATPCO Leadership including Board Airlines | Airline Tariff Publishing Company". www.atpco.net. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
- ^ "JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES AIRLINES PRICE FIXING SUIT, MAY SAVE CONSUMERS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS".
- ^ "About | ATPCO + Routehappy". www.atpco.net. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Airline Data Platform ATPCO Acquires Rich Content Provider Routehappy | ATPCO + Routehappy". www.atpco.net. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "ATPCO Awarded Patent for Cacheless Airline Ticket Pricing Model | ATPCO + Routehappy". www.atpco.net. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Library of Congress Acquires Historical Airfare Collection". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2022-11-21.