The story
ARC was established on September 17, 1984, as a privately held company following airline deregulation in the United States. The corporation began operations on January 1, 1985, in Washington, D.C., settling financial ticket transactions between airlines and travel agencies. ARC is the successor to the Air Traffic Conference of America, an operating division of Airlines for America, formerly known as the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA).
In 1995, ARC launched a payment solution for travel agencies called ARC Pay and introduced data products.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, ARC established the Travel Intelligence Program (TIP), which was intended to strengthen national security in the United States. In the summer of 2025, the program drew scrutiny from privacy advocates because it allowed participating US government agencies to access travel-related information under certain circumstances. ARC ended TIP in late 2025, stating "TIP is no longer aligned with ARC's goal of serving the travel industry."
From Wikipedia’s article on Airlines Reporting Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4