In an initiative designed to give airlines a greater say over the standards and security of Internet trading in the travel industry, IATA has applied to create a ".travel" Internet top level domain.
If approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) ".travel" will become an alternative to the ".com" domain. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will take responsibility for accreditation, ensuring companies meet its standards, and that they are reputable travel-related businesses. It will discourage re-selling domain names and "cybersquatting". IATA hopes the first sites will be up early next year.
As IATA seeks more influence in Internet trading, SITA is making its Aerospan e-commerce marketplace independent by acquiring most of the shares of joint venture partner AAR.
Source: Airline Business
