SITA strengthens its position in airline operations with agreement to acquire Flightscape

SITA has agreed to acquire Flightscape, CAE Inc.’s airline operations software business, whose solutions help airlines plan flights, manage crews, control operations, coordinate ground activities and deliver in-flight services. The acquisition will help airlines make better operational decisions and coordinate recovery more effectively across the aviation ecosystem.

As aviation grows, so does the complexity of running it. By 2050, more than 10 billion people are expected to fly each year, while disruption continues to affect daily operations. Every flight depends on the different partners across the industry working together, yet each sees only part of what is happening.

“Airlines need to make the best possible use of their aircraft, crews and infrastructure while responding to increasingly complex operational challenges,” said David Lavorel, Chief Executive Officer, SITA. “With Flightscape, we will bring together our respective complementary capabilities to strengthen what we offer airlines and connect their operational decisions with insight from across the aviation ecosystem. That will help our customers anticipate disruption, recover more effectively and run more resilient operations.”

Flightscape’s software is used daily by more than 90 airlines, helping them plan, manage and operate flights across their networks.

“The hardest decisions in an operations control center come when plans change and every minute counts,” said Yann Cabaret, CEO of SITA for Aircraft. “Technology and AI can now help airlines and their partners see more of what is happening and respond together. With Flightscape, our aim is to give an airline’s operations team and its partners across the industry the same information when plans change, so they can recover as one operation rather than as separate parts”.

SITA, owned by the air transport community, already supports the wider operation around those activities, connecting all aviation industry partners through the information they share every day. Today, much of that information sits outside the systems where airlines make their operational decisions. Flightscape will add that operational core, complementing SITA’s existing products. Work to connect them will start only after completion of the transaction.

The acquisition will continue SITA’s investment in technology for airline operations. In 2021, SITA acquired Safety Line, whose technology helps airlines fly more fuel-efficiently, and earlier this year Big Blue Analytics, whose AI helps them build recovery plans in minutes. Both work alongside whichever systems an airline already uses, and SITA will bring them together with Flightscape’s systems in stages, working closely with customers. In this way, the acquisition will continue to drive SITA’s innovation, for the benefit of its customers and the wider industry.

“I believe SITA is a natural home for Flightscape and an excellent strategic fit for the business,” said Carter Copeland, President, Flightscape. “This transaction positions Flightscape within an organization deeply connected to the global air transport industry. I am excited about what this combination will mean for Flightscape, its customers and its future.”

Flightscape customers will keep the service and support they rely on today, across flight operations and in-flight services. Solutions will stay modular and open, so airlines can choose what they need and connect it to the systems they already run. SITA also looks forward to welcoming Flightscape’s teams and building on the decades of airline operations expertise they bring.

The acquisition is expected to close over the course of H1 2027, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. Rothschild & Co. is serving as sole financial advisor and Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) is serving as legal advisor to SITA on the transaction.