Throughout 2025, ARC is celebrating its 40th anniversary by looking back through the years at how the industry and ARC have evolved. While the air travel industry has had no shortage of challenges in the 40 years of ARC’s existence, air travel has continued to grow and connect people all over the world. Over that time, ARC has adapted its business in response to the changing travel landscape while helping lead its customers and partners to greater heights.
Read on to see how ARC has transformed over the years to become the intelligence behind air travel. (Hover over each image to enlarge.)
1985: ARC Enters the Industry at a Time of Growth
ARC officially began operations on January 1, 1985, with the mission of providing airlines with transparency into their agency partners, settling and reporting ticket transactions sold by agencies, and ensuring the timely transfer of funds between both parties.
Around the time of ARC’s inception, traditional powers in the airline industry like Trans World Airlines (TWA), Eastern Air Lines and Pan American World Airways were losing ground to the major U.S. airlines seen today, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
In the years that followed, the airline industry experienced a number of mergers while travel agencies and airlines determined how to best serve corporate customers.
1990s: Welcome to the Internet
The first half of the 90s was characterized by airline and travel agency mergers and acquisitions as the industry dealt with outside forces impacting air travel’s growth. While travelers still had to visit a travel agency or call an airline to book a flight, the Internet, which at the time was slowly working its way into society, was being introduced as a way for corporations to book air travel.
By the end of the decade, airlines and travel agencies were encouraging adoption of their online booking tools. ARC launched Travel Agency Service Fee, now known as ARC Pay, a payment platform for travel agencies to process credit card transactions.
2000s: A New Way to Book Travel
The shock of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. and the dot-com bubble would affect corporate travel for several years. Along with this setback, the air travel industry faced upheaval from the rapid adoption of the Internet. Online travel agencies were making their presence known, with brands like Expedia, Booking.com and Orbitz experiencing tremendous growth during this time.
To ensure its place in the evolving marketplace, ARC helped airlines and travel agencies fully adopt electronic ticketing.
2010s: A Data-Driven Revolution
As the adoption of mobile phones and devices reached most American adults, U.S. airlines turned their focus to data-driven personalization to better serve travelers. Seeing this change, ARC added more data services to help its partners understand traveler preferences and trends.
In 2012, ARC and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) introduced Direct Data Solutions (DDS), a business intelligence tool using direct sales data from airlines to help customers better understand travel patterns.
Through the remainder of the decade, ARC positioned itself for future success with solutions supporting New Distribution Capability (NDC) and direct connections, as well as data-driven tools like ARC Corporate Intelligence, which was originally known as ARC Data Connect.
2020s: Pandemic Recovery and the Future of Airline Retailing
Like many of its partners and stakeholders, ARC entered 2020 flying high from record agency sales and passenger trip totals in the year before. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the progress and growth of the previous decade to an abrupt halt as air travel declined more than 90% year over year. ARC, airlines and their industry partners would put their growth plans on hold for the next two years as the entire ecosystem navigated travel restrictions, hesitant travelers and new, post-pandemic travel patterns.
Now in 2025, with most of the industry beyond recovery from 2019 levels, ARC has turned its attention to the future of airline retailing. ARC’s influence can be felt across the entire distribution ecosystem, where it serves data needs, supports modern distribution strategies, and provides vital thought leadership that brings the industry together to solve issues collaboratively.
ARC looks forward to serving its customers and partners in its 40th years and beyond.