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OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the
USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
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,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight status, connection times, and industry reference codes such as airport codes.


Early history

The "Official Aviation Guide of the Airways" was first published in February 1929 in the United States, listing 35 airlines offering a total of 300 flights. After the Guide was taken over by a rival publication in 1948, the September issue carried the OAG title for the first time. OAG was founded in Chicago, but moved to the suburb of
Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village mostly in DuPage County with a small portion in Cook County in Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,163. This suburb of Chicago has the headquarters of several companies and organizations including Ace H ...
, in 1968. The "ABC World Airways Guide" containing maps and tips for travellers was first published in the UK in 1946. The integration of the ABC and OAG brands occurred following the acquisition of OAG Inc. in 1993 by
Reed Elsevier RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...
which already owned ABC International. OAG had acquired SRDS, an ad rate information company from Macmillan Inc., a sister Maxwell company, in 1992; Reed Elsevier sold SRDS to a buyout firm in 1994. In August 1996 all products from the combined ABC and OAG businesses were rebranded as OAG. In 1958, advances in computer technology enabled flight schedules to be sorted and presented by city pair, instead of under separate sections for each airline timetable. This Quick Reference Edition initially included North American flights; starting in 1962 a separate International Quick Reference Edition covered the rest of the world. The two Timetable Editions continued in the traditional format for several more years; the last Worldwide Timetable Edition was in March 1969. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the OAG Quick Reference Editions began integrating computer-generated connecting flight information and tariff data, both also arranged by city-pair and merged with the flight information. In 1962, OAG began providing data to the first computer reservation systems and produced its first customised timetable for airlines. That year, it was acquired by
Dun & Bradstreet The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financia ...
. In 1970, OAG published its Pocket Flight Guide; it is still published today, in four regional versions. OAG participated in the development of the
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) for the interchange of airline schedules data. This was established in 1972 and is still the primary source of protocols and formats for the global airline industry. The OAG Electronic Edition was launched in 1983 and contained both flight and fare information. It was distributed through more than 20 system operators including
Compuserve CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...
, Dow Jones and
Viewtron Viewtron was an online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T from 1983 to 1986. Patterned after the British Post Office's Prestel system, it started as a videotex service requiring users to have a special terminal, the AT&T Sceptre. As home ...
. Additional databases (weather, arrival/departure information) were added in 1988. That year, Dun & Bradstreet sold OAG to
Maxwell Communications Maxwell Communication Corporation plc was a leading British media business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It collapsed in 1991 following the death of its titular owner. History The com ...
. The company produced the industry's first PC-based travel planning tool on CD-ROM in 1991, which was bundled with a plug-in CD drive, as those were rare at the time. OAG launched an analytical tool in 1998, and also its first browser-based travel information product. The Swedish CAA became its first internet timetable customer and the following year
Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...
became the first airline to give its Frequent Flyer Club members online access to OAG Travel Information System through its website. OAG made its flight information available on the Palm VII wireless organizer in 1999, followed a few months later by its first WAP mobile phone application.


Recent history

Reed Elsevier sold OAG to
Electra Partners Unbound Group, formerly Electra Private Equity, is a British-based online company specialising in clothing and specialist footwear. Listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2022, it is listed on the Alternative Investment Market. History The ...
in 2001. After five years under private ownership OAG was bought by
United Business Media UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a multinational media company. Its main focus was on B2B events, but its p ...
in December 2006 to strengthen its aviation, transportation and travel business interests. UBM sold the majority of its data business to
Electra Partners Unbound Group, formerly Electra Private Equity, is a British-based online company specialising in clothing and specialist footwear. Listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2022, it is listed on the Alternative Investment Market. History The ...
in 2013, who formed AXIO Data Group. In 2009 OAG started to supply airlines schedules and Minimum Connection Time (MCTs) to Global Distribution Systems
Travelport Travelport Worldwide Ltd provides distribution, technology, payment solutions for the travel and tourism industry. It is the smallest, by revenue, of the top three global distribution systems (GDS) after Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Corporation. ...
and OAG also partners with the largest GDS in the world
Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
and
TravelSky TravelSky Technology Limited is the dominant provider of information technology services to the Chinese air travel and tourism industries. Its clients include airlines, airports, air travel suppliers, travel agencies, individual and corporate ...
. In June 2010 OAG created new technology (Schedules Dynamic) to deliver the most up-to-date airline schedule changes to airlines, OTAs, GDSs and reservation systems. OAG has a strategic partnership with IATA and contributes to its SSIM Standards Board and working groups. In 2012, OAG launched OAG Analyser to deliver airline schedule analysis via an online accessible tool. In 2013, OAG added to its analytical suite with the launch of Traffic Analyser, a product developed in partnership with
Travelport Travelport Worldwide Ltd provides distribution, technology, payment solutions for the travel and tourism industry. It is the smallest, by revenue, of the top three global distribution systems (GDS) after Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Corporation. ...
; a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry. In 2014, OAG acquired the services of real-time flight information solutions provider, Flight view, to expand its flight data business. November 2015 saw OAG sell MRO Network, a provider of aviation exhibitions, conferences and publications to the MRO, fleet, financing and leasing sectors. In 2014, OAG began releasing its annual Punctuality League, which details the on-time performance of many of the world's largest airlines and airports. OAG also releases annual analysis on the world's busiest and most profitable routes and airports. On 16 February 2017, OAG was bought by British investment firm
Vitruvian Partners Vitruvian Partners is a European private equity firm focusing on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies. Vitruvian invests throughout the UK and Europe and recently in China and India. The firm has offices in ...
. In September 2018 OAG opened a technology development centre in
Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, Lithuania. In January 2020 OAG released its first data and analysis about the impact of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
on China and Asia with information on flights from
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
. OAG continues to release weekly analysis on the impact of the pandemic on the global aviation market. The recovery tracker details changes to global seat capacity annually, by region and by aircraft.


References


External links


Official site
{{Authority control 1929 establishments in England Analytics companies Aviation in the United Kingdom British companies established in 1929 Companies based in Luton Transport companies established in 1929 Technology companies established in 1929 Technology companies of the United Kingdom Travel books