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 the airline, IATA also organised tariff conferences that served as a forum for price-fixing.

IATA Number refers to the unique number assigned to each registered travel agents. IATA numbers are used as the travel agent identifier in reservations to allow suppliers, including hotels, to pay their commissions. The association consists of around 265 airlines, primarily major carriers, representing 117 countries. Based in Montreal, Canada with executive offices in Geneva Switzerland.