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Retail Decisions Plc
Amadeus
Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC)
Sabre / Sabre Holdings
CyberSource
Abacus International
Airlogica Corporation
Attachmate Corp.
ITA Software
Lanyon
PayPal, Inc.
Travelport
TRX
Universal Air Travel Plan - UATP
Prism-Group Inc.
Goldenware Travel Technologies
IATA
Topas
AIG Travel Guard
ARINC
ATPCO
OpenJaw Technologies
Cornerstone Information Systems
MarketDesigns
Innovata
InnoSys
Cheapflights Inc
Concur
Way Systems
OAG Worldwide
APG Global Associates
ETHOCA
WNS

ARTICLE I - Name

The name of this Association shall be the COMPUTERIZED AIRLINE SALES AND MARKETING ASSOCIATION (hereinafter also known as "CASMA").

ARTICLE II - Purpose

The purpose of this Association is to promote the use of automation in airline Sales and Marketing to enhance automated applications including, but not limited to:

Educating its members regarding current systems and future system developments, developing new ideas and concepts for the benefit of the sales and automation functions providing reports, reviews and analysis of systems, procedures and developments and facilitating the open exchange of ideas and concerns with industry-related organizations.

Article III - Policy

Neither this Association nor its members shall engage in, facilitate or condone activities that restrain competition in violation of State or Federal laws or otherwise. The Association and its members shall not discuss or reach agreement on competitively sensitive topics including, but not limited to, current or future fares, rates, prices or costs of services to be provided by members, the territories, routes or markets served by members, the identity of specific customers, future marketing plans or joint refusal to deal with customers or suppliers. CASMA Members are expected to abide by all federal, state/province and/or local laws and conduct themselves in a professional manner.

New Associate Members desiring membership in this Association must be sponsored in their application by a Principal or Allied Member. Such sponsorship does not guarantee approval of the application. The CASMA Executive Committee will review all applications for membership by perspective members and may approve or disapprove based upon the best interests of this Association.

Official notice of the Annual Meeting and Spring Meeting, including agenda and venue, shall be announced to members on the CASMA website (www.casma.org) not less than one (1) month prior to the date of each Meeting. An agenda shall be prepared by the Executive Committee before every Meeting. Members of the Association may submit recommendations for conference topics, speaking proposals and/or speaker referrals to the Chairman of the Advisory Council on Conference Content as outlined in advance for each meeting, but not less than 90 days prior to each Meeting. The agenda will be at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

Article IV - Membership

There shall be three classes of members:

  • Principal Members - are licensed air carriers of passenger transportation and Global Distribution Systems (GDS/CRS). These articles may be amended at any Annual Meeting by a majority vote of the active members through electronic elections, providing that a statement of the purpose and language of the proposed amendment has been included in the agenda submitted by the Executive Committee prior to the Annual Meeting at which such change may be accepted. Principal Members shall have full voting rights. Annual Dues shall be US$200.00.
  • Allied Members - are companies owned by a Principal Member(s) that provide automated services to air carriers. Allied Members shall have limited voting rights and may vote on all matters except issues related to the Articles of Association. Annual Dues shall be US $300.00.
  • Associate Members - are companies or individuals who provide or intend to provide products or services to air carriers. Associate members include, but are not limited to, travel agents, tour operators, educational institutions and vendors. Associate members may not vote. Annual Dues shall be US$400.00. Because of the unique platform provided by CASMA for Associate Members to foster their business, Associate Members will be expected to participate in the capacity of (1) sponsor or (2) tradeshow exhibitor during each event attended. Associate Members who do not fulfill these terms will be denied access to future meetings and/or membership renewal.

CASMA will assess a fee to trade show participants, presenters and speakers to defray meeting costs. Each Member shall designate the name and address of its Association representative to the Executive Committee by December 31st of each year. A list of representatives will be maintained by the Executive Committee. All members agree to abide by the CASMA Policies as outlined in Article III of these Articles of Association. Violation of such will result in the member being asked to resign or will be grounds for not approving a potential member's application for membership.

All applications for membership in the association shall be submitted to the Executive Committee and shall include such information as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee to effectively review and approve or reject the application based upon the best interests of the Association. Upon payment of annual dues, every member shall be provided a copy of these Articles of Association. A member in good standing may officially resign its membership by submitting written notification to the Executive Committee.

Article V - Membership Fees

All fees, dues and assessments will be approved and assessed by the Executive Committee, unless otherwise specified herein. A fixed sum will be collected from each person attending each Meeting. Such sum will bear a direct relationship to the cost of providing meeting rooms, secretarial assistance, hotel rooms, taxes, audio visual services, event coordination and any other business expense required to conduct the meetings. "Annual Dues" determined by the annual meeting shall be assessed and collected from each member for purposes of defraying costs of the Association, including but not limited to, distribution and publication of minutes, newsletters and other general and administrative costs. The amount of the annual dues for each subsequent year shall be determined by majority vote at the Annual Meeting. Annual dues shall be due and payable to the Treasurer of the Association by February 1st following the Annual Meeting. Members may not send delegates to any Meeting, nor be members in good standing unless all dues, fees and assessments are paid prior to the Spring meeting of every calendar year. All fees are payable in U.S. dollars. A late fee equal of $25.00 will be charged for each month that the Annual Dues are not paid. Annual Dues may not be pro-rated for new memberships or late payments.

Article VI - Authority

The ultimate authority of the Association is vested in the Annual Meeting. The Executive Committee, elected by the Annual Meeting, as provided for in these Articles of Association, shall exercise the executive functions of the Association within the framework of these Articles and with such additional powers as may be vested in it by resolution of any Annual Meeting not inconsistent with these Articles.

Article VII - Meetings

CASMA will hold two meetings a year. The spring conference will be held in North America and the annual meeting of the Association shall be held in the fall alternating between TC2 and TC3. The Association will at alternate Annual Meeting; Elect the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. In addition, each Meeting shall: Receive and consider reports of the Executive Committee or other committees, appoint and provide special committees, deliberate and act on matters provided in the agenda. A majority of the members of the Association; present or represented, shall constitute a quorum. Each voting member shall have one vote to be cast by its authorized representative or proxy.

Article VIII - Management

The President shall be elected from the representatives of active members in the Association. Following his or her election, he or she shall serve as Chairperson of the Executive Committee. He or she shall serve as an ex-officio member of the Executive committee (after the election of a successor).

The Executive Committee of the Association shall be composed of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and committee chairs. The Executive Committee shall be vested with the following powers and duties:

In the event of a vacancy of any officers of the Association, or in the membership of any advisory council or committee, it shall select a successor to serve until the next Annual Meeting. It shall represent the Association and determine and fix policy within the framework of these Articles and the resolutions adopted by the Annual Meetings.

It shall have management and control of the affairs, funds and property of the Association. The Executive Committee shall meet as deemed necessary by the Chairperson, but not less than once per year, prior to the Annual Meeting.

The Executive Committee shall adopt, amend or revoke rules and regulations necessary for the performance of its duties. Such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with these Articles of Association nor with the resolutions of the Annual Meeting. The Association may, at any Annual Meeting, delegate to the Executive Committee such additional powers and authority as necessary or desirable for the performance of the functions of the Association.

The Executive Committee will ensure that adequate secretarial assistance is available at Meetings for the preparation of minutes. The Executive Committee will ensure that the presentations from each Meeting will be made available on the CASMA website not later than thirty (30) days after the close of the Meeting.

In the event that an Executive Committee member is unable or unwilling to perform the duties of their position, they may be removed from the Executive Committee by a two-thirds vote of the remaining Committee members.

As directed by the Association, the Executive Committee shall liaise with relevant industry groups and associations. Specifically, on August 9, 1994, the Association passed a resolution approving attendance at CASMA meetings for Associate companies including ARINC, ARC, ATPCO, IATA, and IATAN. Allied companies are companies owned by airlines and which provide automated services to the airline industry.

Article IX - Duties of Officers

  • Nine (9) officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting.
  • The Term of Office for all officers will be for two (2) calendar years commencing January 1 and ending December 31.
  • Officers may not serve for more than three (3) consecutive two (2) year terms in the same office.
  • There will be no other officials.
  • only one (1) Officer may be associated with any member.
  • An individual may be a candidate for only one office.
  • An individual may hold no more than one (1) office.
  • All officers serve on a volunteer basis and receive no remuneration for their efforts.
  • President - will preside at the membership meetings, executive officer meetings, appoint chairpersons and sergeant-at-arms and assure these Articles of Association are adhered to during all association activities.
  • Vice-President - will perform the functions of the President upon request by the President. If for any reason the office of President is vacated, the Vice-President will assume all obligations until the Executive Committee selects an interim President, who will serve until the next Annual Meeting.
  • Secretary - will assure that all membership and executive meetings are documented and a log maintained. The Secretary will coordinate meeting details and announcements.
  • Treasurer - will record and maintain all financial accounting, collect dues and fees, maintain the association bank account and present a financial report at each meeting of the general membership. The Treasurer must reside in the United States.
  • Director Conference Content Committee – will report to the Vice President and will manage the content for each conference including but not limited to the solicitation of speaking proposals, the review and acceptance of proposals, assignment of coordinators for all workshops, panels and keynotes and the development and execution of all conference keynote speakers, panels and workshops. Additionally, this Committee will work with the Secretary to promote the Association through the media as well as coordinating and overseeing press attendance at each event.
  • Director CASMA University – will report to the Vice President and will oversee the educational division of the Association. This includes updating and maintaining all presentations, ensuring the accuracy of the content, maintaining industry certification, developing a pool of member experts who can present the presentations in future meetings, exploring new topics and expanding the educational content for the benefit of all members.
  • Director Finance Committee – will report to the Treasurer and will assist with all of the financial and accounting requirements for the organization. One of the key functions will be to assist the Board of Directors with the development of each conference budget, retention and expansion of sponsors, identification of revenue opportunities to offset conference expenses and to insure that the attendees participation fees are held to the lowest possible level. Additional responsibilities will include assisting the Treasurer with tax filings, dues and sponsorship collections, investigation and recovery of VAT/GST or other foreign taxes for which CASMA is eligible for a rebate in association with conferences conducted outside of the USA and any other assistance identified by the Treasurer. Only the Treasurer and President/Chairman will have access to the bank accounts; however, audit functions may be delegated to the Director Finance Committee for oversight.
  • Director Logistics Committee – will report to the Treasurer and will assist the Association with identify, investigating and selecting venues for future conferences. Working with the other Board Members and Committees will assist in identifying the conference theme, space requirements for exhibitors and sponsors and general conference set-up. Working with the Treasurer and the Secretary the Logistics Committee will also work to ensure all membership retention goals are achieved.
  • Director Membership and Marketing Committee – will report to the Secretary with the responsibility to expand to include new airlines, distribution and technology service companies through the establishment of marketing campaigns and promotions. This committee will be responsible for the CASMA website including but not limited to hosting decisions, new functionality, updates to the core site, etc. Additionally this committee will assist the Secretary with all correspondence for each conference including establishment of the conference registration site, distribution of conference invitations, creation of conference materials including but not limited to attendee booklets, turn down cards, event signage and name tags.

Article IXb – Eligibility for Officers

  • Must be a full time employee of a CASMA Member in good standing
  • Must be manager level or above
  • Must be able and willing to attend up to 3 Board Meetings and 2 conferences each year and participate on a majority of scheduled planning conference calls
  • Must have a minimum of 2 years of CASMA experience or 5 years of airline sales and marketing industry experience
  • Must be available to participate in impromptu meetings/conference calls
  • Must be willing to accept and support the responsibility of the position as elected
  • Must be willing to contribute alongside other Board members in various ad-hoc projects benefiting the Association’s expansion and success in achieving key goals

Article X - Amendment

These articles may be amended via electronic vote certified at the Annual Meeting by a three fourths (3/4) vote of the active members present, in person or by proxy, and voting, providing that a statement of the purpose and language of the proposed amendment has been included in the agenda submitted by the Executive Committee for the Spring Meeting at which such change is proposed for adoption. Changes must be discussed and approved by the membership at large during the spring Meeting in order to be carried forward to the annual electoral process. Approval requires 2 members in good standing make the motion for acceptance and second said motion of each proposed change or amendment.

Article XI - Dissolution

The Association may, at any time, be dissolved by a resolution of the Annual Meeting of the Association approved in writing by three fourths (3/4) of the active members. In case of dissolution, funds and property of the Association shall be distributed among the members pro rata. The aforementioned Articles of Association of CASMA have been voted on and approved by the delegates at the Annual Meeting of October 26, 1998 and amended at the Annual Meeting October 4, 2004.
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